The Lostface
by MasterFran
Summary: Our four Kombat Kids actually returned from their mission. But their anticipation for their weekend ended catastrophically as Cassie is brutally attacked and distorted by an unknown. Is there still a sense for her to live? Based on Leatherface's ending
1. Chapter 1

**(Don't read this stuff if you didn't watch the MK X Ending of Leatherface! Link: watch?v=oVgqEWaz19U )**

 **Hello folks, MasterFran back in the Game. I want to do this for a long time. And now it is time. Remembering the Ending of Leatherface? I always imagend what would happen if Cassie survived his attack. I'm sorry, I'm german but I'm giving a try :D !**

It was one of those rainy days, which nearly messed up the mission. Cassie Cage and her best friends and team-mates Jacqui, Takeda and Kung Jin returned from Outworld, their clothes covered with mud and sand. "You should only bring Kotal his new sword, not the whole dirt of the Sahara," laughed her father Johnny, who was waiting for their return in her small base camp outside the SF headquarters. "Not cool, Dad." Cassie growled, kicking her boots aside. "If our Shaolin fool might have shut his big mouth .." "To offer our support to the Emperor is not wrong," protested Kung Jin.  
"We'd have been back yesterday in record time, if we had not had to clean his fortress because of you." Jacqui murmured.  
Takeda went to clean his whip. "Guys, stop! We have hand over the sword, apologized, and kept our heads. Others were much worse."  
Johnny raised an eyebrow."There are problems with the Emperor?" Jin looked to the ground. "Kotal is worried. Several times, an unknown creature has attacked, especially his female servants. His soldiers found them coldly murdered in their houses. "Jacqui eyes widen" The emperor reports it's supposed to be horrible! Every time the face was cut off! "Cassie rolled her eyes" Whoever is that little Bitch. If I catch him, he'll be caged. In a hard way! "  
She threw herself on the couch and switched on the TV. "No more missions for this weekend. And even if Mrs. General fires me for it, I say: Cage out, for today. "Johnny smiled and reached for his car keys. "So much like her mama. In any case, I am proud of you four. Kotal is very pleased with your performance, I know very well. I'll go back to headquaters and report to General Blade ... forgive me, Cass ... to my ohsohot wife. And also about the mysterious deaths in Outworld. Your flight back home is tomorrow at 8 am. Cassie, you know where the front door key is. Sonya and I will follow after work in three days. Good night!" So he disappeared into the stormy night. A smacking sound followed, then Johnny's swearing. "Son-of-a-bitch!". Jin, watching everything through the tent window, laughed. "Mr. Cage should have taken a flashlight at least." Cassie yawned loudly and rolled onto her stomach. "Free weekend, something that hasn't existed for a long time."  
She looked to her BFF "Vegas still fixed?" Jacqui looked up from her laptop "If Paps is not already in a bad mood again and say no." "Then do not tell him again, he smoke too much!" Takeda giggled as he locked the weapons in the closet. Just after 11 o'clock at night, they wouldn't certainly need them.

11:17 pm

In the meantime, Johnny fought his way through the bad weather. He tried to rub the mud from his shirt. The moviestar finally longed for a quiet night without battles and missions. Hopefully, Sonya could be separated from the work for only once. Johnny became thoughtful. How she would react to the deaths in Outworld? Send the military to hunt creature of the day? Unlikely. They are Outworlders. Always only battles and some shit in their heads. A dark figure on the street suddenly made him look up. Just in time he avoid the unknown man. He looked back. Probably only one of those soldiers who had looked too deeply into the wine-bottle after work. Shaking his head Johnny went on, still four miles to the camp.

The unknown looked at the driving car. He had remained unrecognized. It was not the one he was looking for. Not the girl who should get his present. The man clutched the bag with his precious gift. There was a tent in the distant shining through the storm. That was her base. The place where he would find the bubblegum chewing girl. And she will be his girlfrind. He wiped over his apron and trudged through the rain, up to the girl's base. He waited over years for this moment. She will be his.


	2. Chapter 2

It was exactly 11:30 p.m. when Johnny reached headquarters. He rejected his thoughts on the unknown man on the street as he saw a well-known figure at the entrance of the first sector. "Good old Mr. Briggs!" He shouted through the storm. Jax squeezed his cigar on the wall. "You didn't see anything ok? Or Jacqui is going to squeeze me like that." Johnny patted him on the shoulder. "I'm not a sneak, just a hero with a big mouth. That's what you always say! "The two men pushed themselves under the canopy. "Did you see Sonya?" Johnny asked. Jax twitched with his metal arms. "I guess she's still working." Before Johnny could say something, he quickly added, "But she wanted to take time out for the weekend. Spend some time with Cassie and you. She was very tormented not to be there for her daughter. And also for you. She cannot show it well yet, but her family is very precious to her." No he patted him affectionately on the shoulder "Come on, go to her and take her out of here before she commits suicide with her work!" Excited Johnny entered the building. Still many people, soldiers were around him, but it was relaxed. Even Secretary Blake had already left the base for tonight. Sonya was on the top of the platform. As a general, she had not retired, but she was alone at her workplace. The athletic woman stood with her back to him, so engrossed by an electronic map and didn't notice Johnny.

Sonya heard the footsteps behind her and began to cuss inwardly. She had been on her feet for at least 21 hours, called state leaders, forged battle plans against isolated rebellions, and fought with her exhaustion after 3 weeks without a day break. "Damn it, I've told you a hundred times, secretary, I'm not interested in a new phone line, again, and I hang it on!" Two strong, warm hands lay around her waist. "I do not let myself hang up but I like hanging out with you!" Frightened, she whirled around and found herself in Johnny's arms. "F*ck, Johnny! And I tell you a hundred times, you shall not scare the shit out of me! "He drew her close to him. "Be prepared for all situations, Mrs. General." She closed her eyes buried her head on his shoulder. Suddenly, rest entered her body. "Is she OK? Mission accomplished? "Johnny laughed "Babe, We're talking about Cassie Cage. Rather, Kotal Kahn stands without his miniskirt as without a sword, as her team does not successfully complete the mission. "He smiled and added "The good manners she has inherited clearly from you. Wait, eh. Maybe not." Sonya had to laugh. Johnny pinched her lovingly in the ribs. "Well, a bit of humor or not?" She rubbed the bloodshot eyes "Just tired. You do not believe it, but I am also beaten for today and, in a Scorpion way, this is the end. There any news from Outworld? "Johnny waved his hand. "A few" mysterious "deaths of women. Typically Outworld. They can 't bring anything else in the news." Sonya remained serious. "What do you mean by Mysterious? And why only women?" He shrugged. "Cass and Jacqui report from Kotal Kahn that about a dozen dead women with peeled facial skin were found 2 days ago. Supposedly a monster or some spirit-minded person is behind these incidents." He shook his head. "The Emperor is overworked too." Sonya went silent. Cold sweat ran down her spine. It could not be. Or could it? The details fit; Sonya went inside and counted. Could it really be? If so, then .. oh no! "Johnny! Where is Cassie? Goddamned where is my kid?" She asked, panicked. Johnny loosened his grip. "In her team base on the east hill. The kiddos are now relaxing in peace. And around.." He looked at his phone. "At 11:53 pm you probably do not think about a new mission, Sonya!" She did not answer. 11:53 pm. 7 minutes left till ... Panik grabbed her like an icy claw. "Johnny, shut your mouth for once! Where are the car keys? We must reach Cassie immediately ... don't make this stupid face again, go! Move your ass!" she shouted in fear while running down the steps. If the Kahns story is true, then her daughter, her one and only, hovered in the greatest danger of life.


	3. Chapter 3

Flashback: 40 years ago

"Daddy, what are you reading?" Sonya Blade was just 12 years old and yet she had already developed full enthusiasm for the work of her father and commander, Herman Blade. Curious, she peered over the desk to a newspaper article. "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. More than six Earthrealm women were found dead." Sonya looked up at her father. "Dad, what happened?" Herman raised his daughter and put her on his lap. "Sonny, my little bumblebee, you're still too young for that. Maybe when you're older. And now I must continue my work." Sonya fell with her thin arms around his neck. "No daddy, I'm old enough! I'm a big girl!" She buried her face in his beard. "And maybe I can help you. Please, Daddy! Tell me what you know!" Herman sighed, he could not resist his mischievous daughter. "All right, little soldier." He drew a large stack of notes. "Me and my friends, we are on a hunt for him. Many legends are playing around him. Some guys think they're fairy tales, but there are still incidents like this in Texas." Sonya looked at him with wide eyes. "Who is "He"?" Herman became serious. "We do not know his real name, nor his age. We and the legend gave him a name. Leatherface!" He began to tell. "According to our records, for the first time, 120 years ago, a mass murder took place. At that time, 9 deaths were first recorded in Outworld, all of them women. 2 days later, 5 women were killed in Earthrealm. It is not known who or what killed these women. The strange thing was that one thing they always missed, was the face. The perpetrator must have cut it off after her death. And since then, every 40 years, there has been such a murder series, always the same process. All women, first Outworld, two days later Earthrealm. And now once again. And always the missing face." His voice was heavy. "We have not succeeded , or the SF, to this day to capture and kill the murder." Sonya was silent, she was almost sick. But she wanted to know more. "What about this man you call Leatherface, Dad?" Her father went on. "Its existence is unfounded, and we cannot prove he did these acts. An old legend tells of the appearance of a man. He was a normal citizen of Earthrealm, but one day he was attacked by his girlfriend. She disfigured his face and disappeared without a trace. Never finding any respect and recognition among his fellow citizens again, this man went on and coldly murdered numerous young women, in search of one who looked as much as possible as his last girlfriend. This woman is said to be Magdalena Cassandra Crane. Blonde hair and bubblegum were her trademark. But Leatherface was not just looking for her. He indiscriminately killed women who did not live up to his ideal. Then he pulled off their faces and pulled the skins over his own deformed head. Some people are dismantled afterwards. He prefers the relatives, who put themselves in his way. And the most valuable face for him would be his gift to his future girlfriend, in order to gain recognition. He now searches in every new generation every 40 years, Outworld and Earthrealm." He looked into the distance. "For 120 years he was already unsuccessful. But he does not rest, but kills and mutilates. Sonya shook her head. "Disgusting, who does something like that! And you think the legend is true, Dad? Is there really a man named Leatherface?" He stroked her beautiful blonde hair. "I cannot explain it differently. Every 40 years, always at midnight. First Outwolrd, two days later, Earthrealm is haunted by a murderer. This cannot be a coincidence." She shrugged. "It seems to me to have too many parallels that it can only be a fairy tale. I believe in you, Dad, that you will soon imprison this illiter!" Herman hugged his daughter tightly. "I love you, little Sonny. Promise me that you always take care of you. And even though you should have a little bold daughter like you: Protect her when it's back in 40 years." Sonya clung to her father. "I'll do my best, Daddy! Love you!"


	4. Chapter 4

"Shouldn't we go to bed right now? Nobody tired?" Kung Jin closed his book "History of Edenian Warfare" and stretched. Cassie snorted. "How old are you? Five? Or mentally underdeveloped?" Jin pulled a face:  
"No reason to become personal, Military Grunt! "  
"I'll show you who's going to be personal!" she growled playfully and with a skillful Shadowkick, she hit Jin and his chair against the opposite wall. After a brief shock, the Shaolin was quickly back on his feet. "Well then, let's go Cassie! Expect no mercy." Cassie blocked his fist and gave him a chin hook. "No need, you butt." Takeda and Jacqui watched the hassle of their friends from a safe distance. "I'm betting Raiden's hat, let's see on who, let's do a FLAWLESS one, Jin!" Jacqui was already a fire and a flame for the fight. "Raiden would never bet his hat! Can he even bet? And even if, no one beats my BFF! And now: Finish him!" The fight didn't take long at last since Kung Jin was playing the martyr. He knelt before her, stretched out his arms, imitated Kotal Kahn's voice: "Well, Miss Cage, let's bring it to an end and kill me!" She giggled. "But first, let me take a selfie, duh!" Cassie pulled out her baton, and pretended as if. A little bit to hard. With a tinkling sound the ceiling lamp burst behind the two. "Opsi .." Cassie bit her lip. "She's killing me." "Oh, great! I'm going to load it up on FailtalityArmy." Jacqui said. But before someone could response, it was suddenly pitch-dark in the base. "Oh shit." Kung Jin and Takeda said at the same time. "It was not me! That cannot just come from a dumb lamp I shattered" Cassie protested and quickly pushed the baton with a foot kick under the couch. "Certainly, just outside the fuse flown out. Wow, that's like a horror movie!" Said Jacqui. "Chill, folks. I go out and watch. Then there is going to be Round 2 at midnight" Jin got up and turned to go, but Cassie held him briefly. "You want to go outside unarmed?" He laughed loudly. "Does anyone here fear monsters?" Cassie snorted. "Yeah, as if, punk." Jin grinded and disappeared outside.

Cassie, Jacqui and Takeda were still unconscious in the tent after almost 10 minutes. "Man, I cannot stand it, we need ... damn, Takeda, my toes! Does anyone have a flashlight?" Jacqui whispered. Cassie felt blindly through the darkness, over to a closet. "Here I would still have supported one, as long as none of you ..." She stopped abruptly as there came a rumble from outside. "What the hell is Jin doing so long? Should not we look after him?" Before any of the girls could answer, they suddenly heard a loud engine noise. And then the loud scream of pain from Kung Jin. Panic overcame the three friends. "Shit fucking, Jin! What's happening? I'm coming!" Without waiting for an invitation, Takeda ran through the darkness toward the entrance. Jacqui groped for Cassie's hand, "Was that .. a chainsaw?" She whispered. Cassie swallowed hard. "That cannot be a coincidence, there's someone out there, or something! And it seems to be a dumb!" Jacqui followed her boyfriend. "Takeda wait for...!" Too late. There followed a blow like that of a hammer. Takeda groaned, but he managed to get a knock-back to the stranger. A rumble; It must have thrown him on the ground. Takeda screamed; Cassie heard a crash as the young man was hurled against the crates. "NO! Takeda! Just wait, you mistress, you are mine!" This was Jacqui's rage cry that penetrated through the darkness. Cassie knew she was powerless in the dark. Weapons were needed to stop this beast. It had already knocked out Kung Jin and Takeda, how long would Jacqui keep him in check? She felt for the armory. He was locked and the key was missing. Damn it! She turned back toward the battle; somehow it would have been possible to kill him with the bare hand. And then, it rangs again, the screeching sound of a chainsaw, followed by the scream of her friend, full of fear and pain.

"No ... Jacqui! Hold on!" A croaking voice called from the distant part of the tent, it was Takeda: "Cassie, no ... Run! He ... I can read him ... He .. wants you! Only you." His voice fell silent. Before she could react, light flashed suddenly. She did not know why it was working again, maybe Kung Jin still managed to turn on the switch. The bright glow blinded her for a moment and Cassie opened her eyes again as he stood directly in front of her. Her heart skipped a beat. She did not know what kind of creature it was. He seemed to be a man, with a plaid torn shirt, a white apron and a necktie, blood-stained. With the blood of her friends. On his broad back stuck, besides a heavy hammer, a chainsaw, the blood and flesh of which ran through the blades. But the nastiest was his face. If you could call it a face. This leathery white incised skin and the seams on the mouth and ears. That was clearly not his face. He seemed to have pulled it off from someone and replaced his one. The empty black eyes under the ugly appearance stared at her with an uncanny obsession.

Cassie remained frozen. Behind him she saw the bleeding bodies of Jacqui, she lay stretched out on the ground, and Takeda, who lay with a bleeding head wound in a stack of boxes. She didn't know if they were still alive, because the creature took a step toward her. Cassie instinctively grabbed an empty glass bottle. "No! Fuck off immediately, you disgusting piece of shit! He did not respond. Instead, he reached into a brown bag and pulled out something bloody, rosy forth. Cassie would have liked to puke, because what he held toward her was a face. Rather, only the facial skin. It was grotesque. He waved it around in front of her. "What should I do with this? Take that away, vulture." No reaction, no, he even came closer. Anger came over her and she stepped into the man's hand. To her satisfaction she felt the cracking bones under her boots. The stranger whispered more than he shouted. The face flew behind him on the floor. He looked after him, and it almost sounded like he was crying. Cassie remained hard and even took a step towards him. She did not want to fight, she wanted to expel this monster and finally help her friends. "And now, get out before I pull you your wrong Expression" she snapped. The ugly face turned to her again.

There was no longer any obsession, there remained cold hatred in his eyes. Before she could react, he already pulled his hammer and gave her a blow against the raised hand. Cassie screamed as the blow broke her wrist. The bottle, which she held, broke with a loud clatter. Sharp splinters bored into her palm, the warm blood ran into her sleeve. The young Cage tried to ignore the pain and hit the face with her flat hand. She bit her tongue as her broken bones pressed through her flesh but the blow did its job. Sharp glass splinters slashed his face and right eye. He staggered back and screamed. Cassie took the chance and threw herself at the creature to force him into the knee with a Shadowkick. Flame pain shot through her lower extremities as he suddenly grabbed her leg and bend it over his thick thigh against the joint direction. Cassie felt the tearing cracking sound as her cruciate ligaments and masonry tore, and finally, with the sound of a gunshot, the knee disk snapped. She went to the ground with a cry of pain. Her counter-defense became weaker as the man pushed her a blow against the head. A red lightning flashed before her eyes as she fell on her belly. She wanted to get up, but she no longer felt her legs and arms. As through cotton wool she heard the engine sound of his chainsaw again, this time like a storm bell. Pain like hot lava flooded her body and her senses as he cut her into arms, legs, and back.

The blood pool, in which she lay with her right cheek grew larger and she tasted the metallic warm taste of her own blood in her mouth. He gave her a brutal kick in the side and broke her several ribs that pushed sideways from her chest. Blurred, she saw the tent roof. Again and again the red-spattered saw teeth flashed, her pain was never ending as he gave her several slashes on her belly. Once again she passed the darkness, a colorful game of blue, violet, and red. Cassie could not think anymore. She didn't know how long he tormented her. But she knew that her end would come. Yes. She's going to die. Cassie thought of her father, her mother, her friends. "Dad ... Mum ..", that was the last thing Cassie whispered before she lost consciousness. And the last thing she saw was, in his full contour, his face, so very close to hers.

Yes, she was prepared to die.


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh man, this was hard to write. Next update as soon as possible.**

Stones pushed off the street as Johnny rushed up the street with the jeep. Sonya nervously jammed on the front seat and Jax, worried about the sudden panic of his best friend, takes the whole back seat bench. "Hurry up, Johnny. Please, I don't feel so good." She was trembling all over her body. Johnny put his hand on her leg. "Please Babe, calm down. I always go as fast as I can. You'd better tell me your trouble. I'll tell you this: We get there now, tearing the poor kids out of their sleep, and Cassie is the first one to smack you face so hard that you will circle the orbit at least three times." She breathed. Perhaps he was exceptionally right after all. It's just a legend, a stupid coincidence. And why should it affect her daughter? She swallowed hard. Her daughter. With the blond hair and the bubblegum.

Sonya didn't know what to think when they reached the parking lot. It was gloomy outside, the rain and the storm had fallen. Johnny was about to turn off his headlights as something caught his attention. There was something on the edge of the light cone. It was a hand, blood-stained. "Oh Shit, what's that?" He whispered in horror. A painful groan penetrated through the slightly open window. Immediately, all adults jumped out of the car and hurried to the source of the voice. 15 meters away from the base, wedged between the undergrowth and the fuse box lay an injured man. He stretched out his bloody hand, and pressed his other one firmly on the stream of blood that spilled from a huge flesh wound across his chest. It was Kung Jin.

"By the Gods! Jin. What happened to you?" Johnny ran to him and knelt at the side of his student. Together with his wife and Jax, they were able to raise the young Shaolin into a sitting position and lean him against a rock. He was severely injured and had pain, but well approachable. "Jax, call the heli immediately! Jin must be given medical attention as soon as possible!" Sonya cried as Kung Jin was able to retell the story: "I have been attacked. He came out of nowhere when I just wanted to see the fuse. Gave me a blow against the head.." Jin pointed to a large hematoma on his temple. "... and then he stabbed! Cut through my chest!" Johnny looked at him firmly. "Did you recognize the invader?" Jin shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cage. It was too dark. After he had hurt me, he suddenly turned away from me and penetrated our base. Then I fainted." He began to breathe heavily and coughed. "Takeda, Jacqui, Cassie! I don't know if something happened to them!" Sonya jumped up. "Johnny, help Kung Jin! I will look for the others! Jax, you're coming with me, fast!" Jax had already returned from his emergency call. In a few minutes rescue would be there. They hurried to the entrance of the base. Sudden sickness came over her. Sonya knew something terrible had happened. The doorplane was torn, the light flickered weakly. But worst of all was the metallic smell of freshly shed blood. They lost no time, brushed their guns, and entered the tent. Sonya's breath stopped and she had to put her hands in front of her mouth not to scream. The room was devastated, broken pieces of planks and glass lay on the ground. Bloody footprints adorned the floor, not only that, but also the furniture, the computer. Everything was full of blood. The base looked like a slaughterhouse. A young woman laid face down a few meters in front of them, the body covered with bleeding wounds.

"Jacqui, NO!" Jax dropped his weapons and rushed to the side of his daughter. Before Sonya could react, she noticed another body from the corner of her eye, kinked next to a stack of boxes. Takeda! She hurried at once to the young man. Apart from a few bad cuts on the arms and a squat on his forehead, he seemed less badly injured. Takeda was unconscious, but his heart beat and he breathed. Sonya gently put him in the recovery position. The doctor would take care of him right away. She went to Jax's side. He knelt on the ground, holding Jacqui in his heavy metal arms. He cried. "Jax ..?" Sonya suspected the worst. He sobbed. "It's ok, Sonya. She's alive!" Jacqui was badly wounded, especially on the neck and back. Her right arm was completely twisted, but she breathed and she saw that her eyes were moving. "Jacqui. Who did this to you?" Sonya whispered. She did not answer but stared further into the void, still completely shocked. Fear overcame Sonya like ice water as she stood up again to search for Cassie. She could be so hurt as their friends, or maybe worse. Sonya could feel the tears rising in her but she pulled herself together and continued her search when a blood trace caught her attention. It looked like someone was being dragged across the floor. Horrified, she followed the trail.

And then she found her. The wounded body lay stretched on the stomach, a sheet over the head, and in a blood pool. He was so disfigured that Sonya only realized at the second blink that it was Cassie. "No. Please, NO!" She went to her knees next to her daughter. Violent sobs came over her and then Sonya let her tears flow. They ran hot over her cheek and dripped onto Cassie's back. She was overcome by her self-hatred. All these years, she had neglected Cassie because of her, only work to protect her. And now, when she finally gets along again with her little girl, she was cold-blooded slaughtered. Her father's words came upon in her mind. "Protect her when it's time again in 40 years." She hadn't taken it seriously. And now she paid the price. It was all over. "Cassie?" She wiped her eyes and saw Johnny behind her. His face paled as he saw his daughter lying in her own blood. He pulled Sonya up and pressed her tightly. She felt his tears on her cheek.

"I am so sorry. I should have prevented it.." she whispered. Johnny kissed her, very gently on the cheek. "It's not your fault, honey. We could not have prevented it ..." She began to cry again. "I never thought my own daughter would just di" She couldn't finish the word. The two silenced when they heard a gargled sound, emanating from Cassie's apparently lifeless body. Johnny looked at her, aghast. "Did you hear it, too?" With trembling fingers, he stretched out his hand to her bloody chest, after a few seconds at her neck. Johnny's face brightened. "Sonya. She lives! I feel her pulse! Cassie is alive!" Relief came over her. "My baby is alive!" She rubbed her tears from her face and tried to tear herself together. Cassie might have survived but she was the most heavily wounded of them all. Her wounds still bled profusely and she floated in mortal danger. An engine noise sounded. The helicopter was finally there. Several helpers stormed into the tent and went to take care of Jacqui and Takeda's worst wounds and to carry them on a stretcher. Three helpers hurried at the side of Johnny and Sonya. "General. Please take a step aside, we will take over!" Sonya let them do their work. She grabbed Cassie's blood-stained hand. "Be strong, my little bumblebee. Please don't leave me." she quietly thought. Johnny hugged her briefly.

"She'll make it. She's the Cage with the Blade, never forget that." he whispered. "Ok, on my command. One. Two. Three!" The helpers carefully turned her on the back, so they can lift the young woman on the stretcher. She also had suffered terrible injuries on her abdomen which had to be treated immediately. Still the sheet was hanging over her head and a young assistant pulled it down. The older paramedics held their breath, the younger one screamed and Johnny threw up behind them. Sonya's blood froze in her veins as she gazed at her daughter's rigid, impassive eyes. She did not want to believe that her child was now also one of the victims of Leatherface's brutal attacks.

Because where once was her beautiful face, she looked only at the naked flesh on her skull.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello folks, sorry for the long wait. I have had to write important exams, but now, I'm back.**

Johnny remained frozen, even as they were already hoisting his daughter into the helicopter. The sight of her face, or the place where it once was; he was not prepared for this. He went to his wife. "I'll fly with them, you take the car and take Jax with you, I don't think he can handle it." Sonya didn't respond and her eyes were empty and glazed. She was in shock. But the helicopter was ready to take off, it was time to bring the team to the hospital. "Hey, wait for me!"

Johnny squeezed himself on a folding chair and tried not to disturb the initial supply.  
The four young adults were strapped on their stretcher, each got an ECG, which should control the pulse until arrival. Johnny shrugged as a young paramedic tipped him on the shoulder. "Sir, I could use help with the young Miss Cage." He nodded and clung to the Cassie's stretcher, because the heli had already left ground. "Here." Cautiously, Medic Barton-Box raised Cassie's right arm. "If you could fix her arm as calmly as possible. She needs a venial catheter as soon as possible."

He began to wipe the dried blood from her arm with alcohol pills to find a suitable vein in the elbow. "I know you, Mister Cage. I am a big fan of your films. Ninja Mime is my all time favorite!" Johnny's humor has already left him. "Then you probably are extinct soon, no one liked it." He noticed that the movie star had to bite his teeth hard. "Are you related to this solider?" He looked at the medic. "This is my only daughter, Cassie." Barton-Fox sighed apologetically, concentrating on introducing the needle. "I'm sorry, I did not know!". "It's alright, man. She also takes more after her mother. Only bad manners, I think that's my part."

He still held her arm and stroked her hand. His daughter's blood stuck between his fingers. Medic Barton-Fox gave further directions. "Document the number and location of wounds for surgical procedures, cover them and keep them fresh. Especially the face! Evelyn, give her a NaCl infusion with 2.5 ml butorphanol, wait for it with atropine. Jeff, intubate immediately, an increased O2 intake, no nitrous oxide. We are most likely dealing with a pneumothorax here, you keep the drains ready. What about the oxygen saturation?" "Currently at 92%, attention, there is another drop in saturation!" "Damn .. Jeff, the pulse oximeter?" "Pulse decay, at 54 currently, arrhythmically, poor quality." Johnny became dizzy, the beeping of the pulse oximeter was torture in his ears. Cassie's wounds were still bleeding, red rinks dripping from the stretcher. Barton-Fox tried to provide the deep wounds on her belly. "I need more tampons! And an instillation with Polymyx, immediately!" Johnny only saw briefly the serious injuries as the paramedics desperately tried to stop the flow of blood and store the incurved intestines back into the abdominal cavity. "Boss, saturation at 87%, pulse falls to 38!" "Jeff, is she breathing?" Jeff checked the respirator. It flapped slightly like a dry leaf, but it did not seem to bloat. He touched her larynx, which had already been darkened by the hematomas and the existing oxygen deficiency. "Negative, sir!" "Increase the pressure, level 3!" Jeff turned on a black wheel and then pressed a button. Cassie's chest lifted. "Keep pressure, do not let it down!" They watched as the pressure of the chest was lowered again. A warm air stream escaped from her left side. Paramedics immediately cut her uniforms from her fractured rips and spread a sterile cloth.

Johnny had to go back to his place and let go of her hand. Shocked, he watched as Barton-Fox pushed several short tubes between the broken ribs. "Secure the drains, and put in more tampons!" "Pulse continues to fall! Oxygen saturation falls! Ventilation failed." And suddenly the beat of her heart was silenced. A single surrendering tone filled the chamber. "Cardioplegia, the pulse is lost, sir." "Resuscitation, Evelyn, the defibrillator, quick!" The wounded body reared up as the high volts passed it. "Did we get it?" "Negative sir, continue!" Barton-Fox pressed on the breastbone, all trying to ignore the crunch of the already broken ribs. It was like a bad scene of Grey's Anatomy and yet it was real. The survival chances for Cassie were visibly dying. Her heart still stood silent. "Please screw up, Mr. Cage! We land!" The paramedic, whom they called Jeff, helped him find the straps. "The surgery is ready, the doctors are waiting for us. We give everything to save your daughter's life! But you have to stay outside, ok?" He nodded.

There was a dull impact when the heli mounted. The engine had not been turned off when the doors had already opened. A dozen assistants, nurses and doctors expected the arrival of the wounded soldiers. "Code blue!" Barton-Fox informed the attending physician assistants. "Continue to resuscitate! I'll come with you." The doctor's assistant, Omaha Fleet, waved a part of the bystanders. "Team A, we take over Cage! Continue resuscitation, immediately continue into surgery, please inform surgeons about the arrival. Team B, you take Briggs, patient in consciousness but shocked with multiple injuries of the upper extremities and the neck, immediately into the shock room. Team C, bring Takahashi into room 3. Head injury, possibly cerebral MRI, once the patient is again conscious. Team D, you are responsible for Kung Jin, place a local block, first provide the wound of the thorax, then immediately a CT of the head. Let's go!" Cassie's stretcher was lifted from the helicopter and before Johnny could say anything, they disappeared through the door into the ambulance.

Sonya and Jax just arrived in the ambulance where they waited for the arrival of the injured. When she was about to ask about the whereabouts of the helicopter at the reception, an alarm sounded, followed by a proclamation. "Dear patients, dear relatives. We are expecting an emergency transport. Please clear immediately all roads and doors! I repeat, please clear all the roads!" The young nurse at the front desk looked up. "I suppose, they are coming!" Immediately afterwards the big door was thrown open. A dozen medic rushed with a stretcher toward the surgery rooms. "Pulse unchanged, negative, sir!" A red-haired paramedic, possibly the lead officer, continued to press his fists into the thorax of the injured person. "Give more adrenaline! Inform the surgeons that Cage has arrived! And that we have code blue!" He said Cage. And Sonya now realized that the wounded arrived body was that of her daughter. The stretcher on which she was transported was streaked with blood. Several wipes, bandages and tampons were wrapped over her wounds and much more tubes. Another door was pushed open and the stretcher disappeared through the door which led to the surgery. There was no trace of Johnny. "Jax, wait for the others. I have to go after them!" She didn't know how much time she still have and if Cassie was just dying. Or maybe already dead. She stormed to the door, where they had carried Cassie. It did not open. "Open this door immediately, and let me go to the surgery rooms." The nurse at the front desk was confused. "Excuse me, Miss. Here is "NO ENTRANCE". I cannot just let you in." Sonya open her jacket and gave her a clear look at the placard in the inside the jacket. "My name is General Blade, High Command of the US Special Forces! And they will now open this door and let me to my daughter! This is an order!" She opened the door immediately, but the corridors were long and branched. No chance to find yourself there alone. "Please, take me to her!" The nurse nodded and reached for the phone. "Here is Nurse Wreth, I need information about the actual location of patient Cassandra Carlton Cage, delivered at 1:19 pm ... yes, everything is clear ... I understand ... we are coming ... just right ... yes until soon!" She stood up and came around the desk. "Follow me, General!"

Accompanied by the chubby nurse, the General set off, through the endless corridors, past numerous rooms, some bathed in blue UV-light, and the other white dazzling white lamps. At last they stopped in an anteroom. She cleared her throat and wiped a tear from her eye. "Well, here it is. For further information on the course and the risks of the surgery, the responsible physician must be consulted. I wish you all the best!" The nurse suddenly gave Sonya a short hug, and then went back to her desk with quick steps. This sentiment of the nurses confused her, and she briefly wondered if it was actually the fat Carla Werth who was then with Cassie in the kindergarten. Sonya dismissed her thoughts as she could take a look at the already running surgery. 12 doctors were working on her body, 3 more were trying on the face. The bandage was taken off and gave a new look on the throbbing muscles and veins on Cassie's skull bone. A rinse solution was put into her eyes by the anesthetist to protect her from drying out. The eyeballs had turned downwards, the iris assumed a dim color. But the bag valve moved, not always regularly, but she was breathing again. A small glimmer of hope. There was a murmur of voices coming from the passage from where they had come. It was Johnny who was talking to one of the asssists. "You're talking to John Carlton Cage, who has to stand before you, so you finally let me go to the only other cage in this institution?" He seemed to lose his nerve with the movie star. "I will not say it again. But I still bring you to your daughter. The General is already there and expecting your arrival." He came around the corner. "Miss General is already investigating, I see ...". He locked her in his arms, he was completely finished. "Hey, Honey. Are you okay?" Sonya broke away from his embrace. "OK? I understand something else but you are familiar with the circumstances. Have you seen Jax?"

He nodded. "I sent him to Jacqui. She comes back to herself but she is facing an osteosynthesis. Complete debris fracture of the radius and the ulna." He looked at the running surgery of his daughter. "Nothing compared to the tortures Cassie has to face." She leaned against his shoulder. "Do you think she makes it?" Johnny took a deep breath. "I've already said. She's a ca ..." The door of the introductory room opened and one of the doctors stepped out and pulled down his mouth mask.

"Excuse the interruption. My name is Alan Nephrin, senior physician. Are you the parents of Miss Cassandra Carlton Cage?" Johnny and Sonya nodded. "What can you say about the extent of my daughter's injuries? Will she make it?" He took a breath. "This is hard to say right now. We can give a first all-clear, her heart beats again. But the other injuries are unimaginably difficult. Up to now, the following diagnoses were made: a multiple fracture of the tibia and the patella with a semi-fractured femoral head, the inner meniscus and both crossbands torn with massive hemorrhages into the joint capsule. We still cannot guarantee that we can save the leg but we try. The abdominal aspect of the injuries resulted in an injury to the spleen and a tear of the mesentery. No other abdominal organs were injured. In the region of Th2-5, the spinous processes are fractured, but so far no signs of damage to the spinal cord. The carpus of the right hand has been broken several times; osteosynthesis has already been initiated. And there's the matter with the face ... " He nervously scratched his chin. "Of course we can talk of good news that both the skull and the facial bone are intact. Even no signs of a violation of the eyes, she will be able to see normal ... " Sonya lost her patience. "Wonderful. You talk of good news. Shall I tell you a good news? My daughter has no face! What is there to talk about?" "Sonya!" Johnny scared the sudden outburst of his wife. "It's all right, Mr. Cage. General, I understand you fear and their worries. And I do not want to deliver it as good news either. A three-headed team of our best plastic surgeons will now do everything they can do to transplant a new facial skin. But such an intervention is very difficult and we don't have much time. My task is now, first to bring her out of danger. And you, General Blade and Mister Cage, can help our team! Let us pray to the gods that this surgery will succeed."

 **All I can say, Poor Cass. : ( Chapter 7 follows soon.**


	7. Chapter 7

**...A brief moment after surgery with the team...**

Seven emergency surgeries were needed to save the life of the young soldier. Thanks to her father, Johnny, the amputation of her broken leg was spared. Through his stem cell and tendon donation, the surgeons were able to reconstruct her fractured knee. There followed an artificial coma cause Cassie's blood loss was immense. Sonya wasn't even able to go to work the first few days since she donated so much blood to her daughter that she would have almost killed herself. Kung Jin, Takeda and Jacqui recovered well after the treatments of their injuries. Only Jacqui had a plaster arm since she had suffered a terrible debris fracture, and Kung Jin was forced to wear a metal plate under his skin due to a fractured skull.

"Is there nothing we can do for her?" Jacqui asked the doctor in attendance. 15 days had passed since the brutal attack. Except for Cassie, the young adults were released again from the hospital, and especially Jacqui was worried about the life of her best friend. "I'm terribly sorry, Miss Briggs, but there is nothing more we can do." One last time the doctor controlled Cassie's infusions, she got through two venous catheters, and then he filled a tank of pure oxygen. "From her coma she'll have to wake up by herself." He left the room. Jacqui sat on Cassie's bed edge, smoothed her bedcloth, and positioned a little soft teddy bear under her arm. She thought about her own wounds under the plasters on her neck but the sight of the crushed body of the young Cage almost hurt her more.

"How is she going to react when she finds out?" Jin asked quietly. Takeda looked at him indignantly. "The most important thing is that she wakes up again! Other wounds heal with time!" Jacqui looked at her boyfriend. "But this, Takeda, will never heal again. You know that." She glanced at Cassie's heavy bandage. From her head was little seen besides the tracheal tube, which led from a slit in the strapping. She closed her eyes at the thought of how she would react to it that there is nothing more? Because the wound that will never heal, remained her face. The doctors had not been able to restore it. It was erased, cut off. Two transplant experiments had already failed and it would be a shock for Cassie to have to live without a face forever. She almost had to suppress a sarcastic laugh. "If I were in her place, maybe I would never want to wake up again." Takeda looked down.

"Who wants to live without face forever, without emotions, always to be stared at? I do not know what it would make sense for me." Kung Jin looked at them tightly. "I do not think anyone wants to stuck in Cassie's skin. And none of us knows Cage well enough to know how she will deal with it. But let's stop discussing the meaning of life. I wouldn't last long in my place too, but now the gods will be able to help us and hope that she will soon be among us again!" They all agreed on this point, and so they all lingered silently in the room until Takeda again broke the silence. "Guys, it's time for our physiotherapy. Let's look again for Cassie tomorrow morning! Take care, Cass. See you tomorrow!" Kung Jin looked at him. "She cannot answer us, but she'll hear us, Jin." he replied. "Can you read her? Her thoughts?" Jacqui asked. Takeda closed his eyes. "It is difficult with coma patients. They're as blurry as lost souls. I cannot read them, nor does they process our conversations, nor can they react to them. But there is a voice in her that announces her presence. Cassie is still among us. And to be there for her as friends, we support her more than you believe!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for all the comments. How Cassie react to her distorted face? Well, not now, but I keep going.**

Cassie was dreaming. At least she thought it was all a dream. In a contourless white world. She didn't know what to do there. There was neither space nor time. Apart from consumed voices in her head. It was f*cking crazy. At last first outlines appeared. It looked spurious, everything in black, white and gray, almost as drawn on a sheet of paper.

A ground with sand became visible. Cassie guessed it cause of the look, because she could feel no ground under her feet, nor did she hear the crunch. A throne in the middle, surrounded by several pillars. In a circle surrounded by seating and standing ranks. Cassie didn't want to believe it, but she seems to be in the legendary arena, where once the Mortal Kombat tournaments were carried out.

Still, she wasn't clear whether it was a dream or a consumed reality. Just as she approached the throne, a voice arose behind her. "Hold, Cassandra Cage!" She whirled around. "Raiden!" It couldn't be. The thundergod has died before her own eyes and had descended into the netherrealm. And yet he stood before her, with his blue, flashing eyes. She backed away. "What does that mean? What's going on here?" Raiden looked at her intently and came to another step. "I recognize your confusion, Cassandra Cage!"

She shook herself energetically. "Confusion, though! Stay calm, Cass." She said to herself.  
"This is just an odd dream. Raiden is still dead, I wake up now and everything is all right." She tried to pinch herself, because that often helped. But nothing happened. She looked at her hands. But there were no hands. And also, as Cassie looked down, she realized that she obviously had neither legs nor feet. "No." She groaned and turned back to Raiden. "Tell me, Thunder God! What's going on?" He looked at her calmly. "You cannot remember anything?"

A red flash of light appeared before her inner eye. The flashing of sharp knives. Blood. Screams. Her own screams. "We were attacked." she whispered. Raiden nodded. "Leatherface." The clenched truth grabbed her like an icy claw of certainty. "So am I ..." she trembled. "Dead?" No answer. Cassie got angry. "No visions, Raiden. Now tell me, for god sick! Am I dead?" She quivered with fear. Raiden put her arm around her shoulder and guided her through the arena without answering her question. "You've already recognized where I brought you. Important events have taken place here. Events of victory and grief.

I remember when I first met your father. I saw him immediately, and I realized that the gods had laid a great destiny for him. And together as a unit, we succeeded in saving earthrealm. So I also recognized your destiny and you have become one of the most powerful warriors born of the blood of champions. You have finished a corrupted former eldergod and turned into a legend we are still talking about.

But your mission is not over yet." Raiden led her to a monument. "To fulfill your destiny will be a great challenge, not just for your friends and family, but especially for yourself. But you will not only gain a great profit for yourself, but also for someone special." The Thunder God slowly walked away. Cassie wanted to follow him, but she couldn't move from the point she was standing. "Raiden, please! Don't leave me! What do you want me to do now? I need more answers!" But Raiden was no longer there.

The arena began to dissolve. A voice sounded in her head. "Never forget, Cassandra Cage! You are who you are. And so you will be victorious in these difficult days! Never forget that. Never forget me." The world became white again. "No, Raiden! You must tell me more! Raiden,please, where are you?" But the world grew gray and darker. A whirring buzz filled her skull until real words were formed from it. "Attention, turn down the oxygen ... Inform Dr. Nephron ... I think she's coming back to consciousness!"

 **I'm sorry. I know, this was short. But still nice. Heads up for the next chapter. Coming soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

Air. She needed air as quickly as possible. Cassie began to choke and cough violently, as something stuck in her air tube. The airflow into her collapsed lung wing and panic increased. "Where ... am ... I ..." she tried to say with a croak. Cassie cannot see anything, it was completely dark around her. But the confused voices in her head finally formed clear words, like an echo. "It's all right, Miss Cage, we're there for you, please stay calm. Breathe calmly, we are now removing your tube!"

Breathe calmly! Very funny, she thought, if a 20 cm long rubber tube stuck deep in your own throat. This, however, didn't prepare her for the disgusting feeling as with a squealing noise on her cartilages it slipped through the dried-out larynx and finally they pulled it with long threads of saliva from her mouth. Cassie's weakened body reared and she vomited a splash of frothy bile that dripped laterally over her mouth on the cheek. Instantly the pain returned, just a burn all over her face. The young Cage cried out with agony and panted extremely, because her lungs were very weak.

"It's all right, stay calm! Wreth, please give me supra, 1:10 diluted, 8 ml, fast!" In the meantime, someone touched and stroked her arm, but her feeling didn't return completely yet. It felt like thousands of pinsticks. "You mustn't be frightened now, I'll dribble you a bit of supra in your throat! It's cold, but it will ease your breathing. Attention!" Someone spread her jaw gently. When the ice-cold liquid ran over her torn vocal cords, she was overcome by a renewed coughing and suffocation. But the unknown man was right. At last, her airways widened and Cassie breathed weakly but regularly.

"You're doing very well! We'll give you something to handle the pain. You'll feel better, I promise!" The infusions were like ice crystals in her elbow as the fluid with the morphine passed through the semi-thrombosed venous catheter. Her still half-feeling and painful body began to relax, the terrible burning in her face eased up. "How do you feel now, Miss Cage?" "It's a little bit better." She croaked tired, her throat was still swollen and irritated from the long intubation. She took all the strength together for her first question. "Who are you and where am I?" The man cleared his throat.

"Then we both welcome each other finally. My name is Dr. Alan Nephron, I've been your treating doctor for the past 23 days. Since then, you've been here with us in the hospital." Her brain was visibly paralyzed. It took a long time to process the words. "23 days?" She heard a soft metallic sound. "You have already understood. 23 days have passed since your delivery. Can you remember the past events?" Cassie felt a slight pull on her head. She didn't answer the question immediately. "Why can I not see? Am I blind?" A snap right next to her ear. "Your eyes should be intact. You wear only a facial bandage that has hidden your eyes. I'll remove the first layer now. The last bandage over your eyes will be left for their protection."

She felt the soft fabric loose from her skin. "You mustn't be frightened, the light will be very unfamiliar to you. It takes a short time to get used to the environment. Just let me know if you can see contours and colors." Dr. Nephron paused. "Caution, I'll remove your top bandage from your eyes!" Bright light dazzled Cassie as the doctor took the bandage from her eyes. She was too weak to hold her hands in front of the light, so she pinched her eyelids tight. This effort was enormous, but Cassie slowly began to differentiate various greens and blues.

The blurred space began to take contours. She saw flashing technical devices of all kinds, white walls and in front of her two figures: a large middle-aged man and a small, plump young woman with black hair. Everything was like a mosquito net, because there was still a dressing layer for the protection of the first light incidence before her eyes. The man, who's Dr. Nephron, nodded contentedly. "Can you see us?" Cassie nodded cautiously. "Very nice. Then we've already calmed down." He sat down beside her bed on a chair. "Would you be able to answer me a few questions, Miss Cage?" He quickly added, "For God's sake, if you feel too badly, that's no problem at all! We can postpone it to tomorrow."

Cassie slowly moved her aching head from left to right. "No, it's ok." She murmured. "I can make it." He laid a log on his lap. "All right, we're starting. Don't worry, it's really not that difficult. Please, can you give me your full name, Miss?" Thought it was still difficult for her, but she took all the strength for it. "Cassie. Cassandra Carlton Cage. Or Sergeant Cage. As the Lord desires." He smiled. "Your humor pleases me. Well then. How much can you remember? Can you remember at least anything?" She shuddered at the event. The event that led to Raiden. What she had brought to the hospital. It was blurred, her memory gaps. Slowly, she tried to put the puzzle together in her brain. "Me... Jacqui ... I can remember that we wanted to go to Vegas. We were still together with our team. Then there was an attack. I cannot remember anything more. I'm sorry."

Exhausted, she sank deeper into her head pillow. Dr. Nephron took notes eagerly. "It's all right. I'm very impressed that you can remember the attack at all." Her eyes were down on her body, down over all the hoses, bandages and rails. Hematomas, scraped-up skin spots. Cassie's eyes fixed those of the doctor. "What happened to me?" He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "You friends, and especially you, Miss Cage, were severely wounded in this attack. Your family, friends, and all our team are happy that you have escaped with your life." Her eyes grew wide. "Oh yeah. We had to perform surgery on you at least seven times. And you were now 22 days in the artificial coma. Until now."

Her brain was chattering violently. She took pains to understand what was being said. 22 days of coma. Was the encounter with Raiden just a delusion? A dream? Or had he really dug into her soul to give her this strange message? Dr. Nephron noted that it was slowly too much information for the young soldier. "I will leave you alone now, but especially inform your parents, 'cause no one know. It will also occasionally a nurse control your vital functions. You have to rest now, you have some exhausting days behind you. We'll clarify further details when you get better." She opened her mouth to say something. Dr. Nephron smiled. "Don't worry, I'll give you an analgesic for the pain. Everything will be all right, trust us." A yellowish liquid trickled into the infusion bottle and then into her veins. The doctor left the room.

Cassie's eyes were heavy. The exertion of the last minutes was too much for her beaten body. Though she torment so many questions. Who had attacked her? How bad were the injuries? Where was her family? But now she just wanted to sleep. Slowly, her eyelids closed as the painkiller drove her senses. But in her last twilight state, this flash of light reappeared before her eyes. Red flash light, like the injection of blood. She hoped it was Raiden and he would come to protect her. But it was not Raiden. An image flashed before her inner eye. It was the face of a man with a leathery, devouring face, followed by her scream that came deep from her heart as her lips formed his name. Leatherface...

 **Trust me, it's shitty hard stuff to imagine and to write.** **I have already experienced something similar.** **I try to update soon. Please review if you still like my story. No spoilers, let's see what happens next (I'm sorry for my short chapters, I hate to write to long in a row)  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**Authors Note: Late Update cause network error**

 **It's time for ... Parental!** **Ok, that was not imaginative.** **  
Welcome back, MasterFran at the start and I finally present you after a long time… chapter 10! Reviews are welcome as always, and if you still like the story line. I already have my story up to the final in my head! It just has to get out of my brain on a paper. But now: Have fun!**

"And cut!" It was a great relief for Johnny to hear the clapping of the film flap. He dropped his heavy, loaded backpack, which he had to drag around for his role in "Tommy Scissorfists". It had taken two years to bring this film to production. Johnny had even managed to get a real tarkatan for his main role.

It was actually a good feeling to be able to pursue his work again. The last few days had been very stirring for him. More than three weeks had passed, but his little princess had not awakened yet from her sleep. "Maybe she's just waiting for the prince to kiss her." He had joked at his last dinner.  
With Sonya, however, was not to be trifled. For him, it was a way to deal with these terrible events, but the General was an enigmatic sphinx. She had never shown a sense of motherhood during her daughter's education. But when it came to the life of her only child, Sonya's instincts also rose high. No one should dare to get too close to her girl. All the worse, she thought that she had failed again in her role as mentor and mother. But for her too, it was the best way to go back to work and leave the fight to the well-trained doctors.

Lost in thought, he sat down in his chair and touched his right hip bone. The surgical result had become good and only 2 small scars remained from his stem cell donation from the pelvis. No comparison to catastrophic blood donation campaign of his wife. After being forbidden to make a third round after two blood donations because of her own health risk, she had tried to rescue her daughter out of sheer desperation, by putting herself a needle into the vein. Unfortunately, Sonya's anatomical basic knowledge was very weak because she perforated an artery instead and arranged a regular bleeding in the living room, whereupon she was suspended from work for a week due to illness. The matter was embarrassing to her, and her dark purple thick tarnished arm reminded her every day of the misfortune. Fortunately, the first donations have already been given to secure the life of their daughter for the first time (her veins have become so useless that no needle in the world would have drawn blood from them again).

"Hey boss, should I get you a coffee?" That was Julius, a student intern who was allowed to help on set since a couple of days. "Thanks but no. That's not good for my blood pressure. But I could stand a beer right now!" The boy with the brown curls nodded eagerly. "Yes, I'm on my way!"  
Johnny leaned back and closed his eyes. All his thoughts were with Cassie. She was so wise and brave, and yet so weak and fragile at the moment. He would never give up the hope of her reawakening. If she would never wake up, his life would be extinguished. A life without his daughter was no longer conceive for the movie star.

Just as he tried to banish her terrible state from his thoughts, his mobile phone began to ring with the familiar "James Bond Theme". He reckoned with a new call from Sonya, which demanded more heparin syringes (that would be the fourth time). But that was not her number, which lit up on the display. The entry was "Nephron Hospital"! "Oh my God, please do not let anything bad happen to Cass!" he whispered.

Every day he had visited his daughter in hospital. Sometimes he told her a funny story about his shooting, and occasionally brought her little surprises. He had never received a call, because Cassie's condition remained virtually unchanged over the last three weeks. The more nervous Johnny was now by the incoming call of the senior physician. But he took a deep breath and approached the phone call: "Hello? You talk to Johnny Cage?" Immediately, the excited voice of Dr. Nephron: "Greetings Mr. Cage! It won't take that long. We have news for you and your wife!" He got goose bumps. "Shit, man. Is it Cassie? Oh my God, something happened to her? "He asked in a trembling voice. There followed a brief pause before there were the three long awaited words, which left his heart exposed for a moment.

"She is awake!" Was the short answer. Johnny didn't know what to answer. Everything was rotating at a time. She is awake. Cassie woke up. Dr. Nephron seemed to notice his short burnout. "About 20 minutes ago Cassandra came to consciousness. We successfully extube her and keep the circulation in good order. If I could ask you, then please come immediately with your wife to the hospital. Your daughter will appreciate your presence. Everything else we clarify on the station. See you!"

The call fell silent. Slowly Johnny's hand sank with his cell phone. His heart pounded hugely in his chest. She is awake! Now there was no time to lose. Johnny jumped up from his chair, almost beating Julius the tray of glasses out of his hand. "Sorry, man. Almost overlooked!" The star stammered quickly. Julius seemed equally confused. "But what about your beer, Mr. Cage?" Johnny was already running to the exit of the stage. "I'm sorry, I have to drive a car! Give it to Tony or one of the other guys. Tell them, the break will be extended, I'll call them on the way!" He yelled over his shoulder before the door fell into the lock.

The engine shouted loudly as Johnny raced full-throttle over the terrain toward the highway. He wanted to take the ramp to the hospital until he remembered that he couldn't go without Sonya. So he tore the car with full force and heated with 190 mph on the way, which led directly into the military area. It should not take 45 min to arrive. Determined, Johnny stepped closer to the accelerator.

Sonya pained her face as she slipped the thin needle through the skin in under-skin tissue. Disgusted, she pushed the butt off and felt the heparin spread between her cells. With a swing, she pulled the needle out of her arm again and placed it with the syringe aside. Sonya hated needles above all. Nevertheless, for days she had been busy with this procedure, to treat her swollen, darkened arm with the blood thinner by herself. With teeth gnashing, she thought about all that, of course, she was to blame alone. A good general was not a good doctor. Only she hadn't thought it would go so catastrophically wrong. What you wouldn't do for your own child, she thought. In her fear that she might still lose Cassie, she has ever overcome to go to donate.

Thoughtfully she devoted herself again to the newspaper articles on her desk. Despite her lunch break, she preferred to deal with the events. Not only from the past weeks, no, even these, which have occurred in the last centuries. Now that her own family was involved in the horrible fates, Sonya began to continue her father's research. Many of the lyrics came from him. The headline of his archives was: "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In the footsteps of Leatherface. By Herman Arthur Blade." A book that her father had led for years during his service. It was full of his own texts, quotations and newspaper excerpts. The General thought wistfully to her father, the last piece of her childhood.

She read the first page of his work. "120 years ago, in 1855, the first scenario of a gruesome murder series took place. On 21 May of the year nine young women were mysteriously murdered. Each of the Lifeless bodies had numerous wounds, which, according to the experts at the time, could be the result from a saw. The unknown murderer had removed the facial skin from each of his victims to the shock of all the inhabitants of Outworld. 48 hours later the horror continued as another five women in Texas were killed in the same way. President Pierce was shocked. A perpetrator could never be caught. It was only 40 years later that another massacre with a similar process took place. President Harrison stated in a press conference that he didn't suspect any connection to similar events 40 years ago. He believed firmly in a coincidence, a rare case of an imitator, to be snatched and to be hanged for his crimes. But parts of the population were insecure. Thus a special department of the SF for covert investigations was consulted. Colonel Alexander Theodore Blade was the head of this unit, whose goal was to uncover the acts of violence and to give the unknown murderer a face and a name and to bring him to account for the cruel killing delicts and distortions of the victims."

With her thoughts and feelings entirely with Cassie, she put aside the work of her father. Angry let Sonya crack her joints. At first she didn't care much about the kinship, but now, as a penultimate descendant of the Blade family, she wanted to do everything she could to complete the work of her ancestors and to avenge her daughter. Revenge on this creature, on whose hunt was already 160 years of military generation.

Sonya took a deep breath and began stowing the valuable heirlooms back into her crate. In the near future she would begin to reveal the secret of Leatherface as a tribute to her father. She looked at the clock. Still 13 minutes break.

That was just enough time to get the things back in her office. So she jumped up from her chair, the box jammed under her healthy arm and trotted towards the stairs. In passing, she was stopped by her colleague, Lieutenant Annie Jam. "You don't leave me alone at my workplace, do you?" Sonya began to run down the stairs facing backwards. "I'm just going to my office, lieutenant, don't worry!" Annie winked at her. "Just don't miss the end of the break, General!" Just as Sonya was trying to call something after her, she suddenly collided with another person on the steps. She lost her balance, then lost her crate and rushed with a surprised outcry down the stairs where she hit the floor.

"Damn, fuck shit man!" She growled, rubbing her upper arm, and calculated, it was her swollen arm. She propped herself painfully from the floor and turned to the idiot on the stairs. It was Johnny. He had caught up her crate and looked quite crushed. "Sorry, honey. Didn't see ya there." She spat a bit blood on the floor. "Then, would you be so kind and help me up if you don't seem to have eyes in your head?" She hissed angrily.

Two strong hands grabbed her under her arms and pulled her back to her feet. She was still staring at him like a falcon. The General turned her head back and forth to make sure that no one had watched her fall. Then she turned back to Johnny. "What the hell are you doing here anyway? I'm at work!" she snapped. He didn't pay attention to her spiteful tone. His eyes lit with excitement. "She is awake!"

That had to be sitting first. In disbelief, Sonya stared at him, unable to grasp. "I'm sorry. Please say that again." She murmured. He grabbed her by both arms. "She's awake, honey! I'm talking about Cassie! She just woke up from the coma!" Sonya gave a strange sound, half sighing, half squeaking. All the pain was forgotten. The intolerable waiting had finally come to an end. Her little girl had returned to her. She tried to find her language again. "Can we..." Johnny didn't let her talk, but pulled her down to the ground floor. "That's why I'm here. We'll leave immediately." Sonya suddenly stopped. "Wait, I should inform Secretary Blake about my absence." Johnny stared at her, bewildered. "Damn, this is about our daughter!" He pulled her away. "Call him on the road! We have no time to lose!" Sonya realized how stupid she was. Again she put work over family. She would still have to work on this. She swung herself into the passenger seat and drove off to Cassie to the hospital.

"General Blade and Cage! We have been asked by Dr. Nephron!" Sonya did not waste time on arrival. She just hoped that the car would not be towed, as Johnny, always in hurry, parked in the middle of the ban. Still breathless they were led by a nurse to the intensive care units. "We have already expected your arrival. Follow me!" Meanwhile it wasn't so difficult for the two to find themselves in the endless corridors. The intensive care unit was Cassie's home for the last 3 weeks and so also the center of family and friends. To her surprise, instead of Cassie's room they were first send in the office of Dr. Nephron.

The well- known senior physician greeted them with a quick handshake. "General, Mr. Cage. It's nice that you could come so fast! Please." He pointed to two chairs at his table. "You can sit here." Sonya and Johnny sat down and she was trembling with excitement. Dr. Nephron take his place opposite them, his hands folded over a thick sheet. "You already know why I have asked you to come that fast. Less than two hours ago Cassandra woke up again from her coma. We are so pleased with her general condition, when you notice what this brave young lady has been through."

He quickly scanned Cassie's card. "We could already stop artificial ventilation. She even said her first words." Sonya clung firmly to her armrest. "Oh man, what did she say?" He looked at her. "She is aware of the accident events and she has a lot of memory gaps. What isn't unusual though. To her person, she can make normal statements. She knows that her name is Cassie, that she is a soldier and so on. This is a good sign."

Johnny cautiously interrupted him. "Can we see her now?" To his relief, the doctor nodded. "Of course. It should be a pleasure for your daughter to see you. But don't be worried. I have given her a strong painkiller which makes her sleep better. But I'm sure once she has rested, that she ... " He was cut off in his word when suddenly someone knocked loudly on his door. "Excuse me," he murmured, calling to his door. "Yeah, what's the matter?" His office door opened wide and Carla stuck her neck inside. She was completely pale around her nose. Without paying attention to the parents, she shouted "Doctor, we need you immediately. We cannot hold her any longer!" He jumped up. "Who cannot hold?" He asked tensely. She was beside herself. "Cage! She seems to have some kind of attack and we don't get her down! Please, we need you quickly!" Dr. Nephron rushed round his desk. "I'm coming Carla." He saw how the eyes of Sonya and Johnny were weighing on him. "Quick, you follow me. We can also use your strong arms!"

They were already expecting loud voices outside the room, occasionally drowned by Cassie's shrill screams. Dr. Nephron pushed open the door. Sonya's blood stuck in her veins. Three other nurses had asked for help at her bed. Two on the trunk, one on the legs. Between them was Cassie's wounded body. Again and again she reared up and tried to beat her arms around her. Dr. Nephron didn't waste time and rushed to her side. "Carla! Diazepam, 0.8! Hurry!" The young woman cracked a small ampoule and quickly pulled the contents into a syringe. "Now please tell me, what has happened here, for God's sake?"

The chief physician turned to his co-workers while trying to fix Cassie's arm. "She started all of a sudden! Out of nowhere!" said one of the staff. "She began to beat and make strange noises. Then she said ..." Then Cassie's leg shot toward his face. He stepped back and immediately fell back onto her legs. But Cassie reared like a beast. "NO ... NO ... NO!" She screamed again and again. Her bed sheet was full of blood, and Sonya realized that she must have ripped out her right venous catheter. "I cannot stand it anymore!" Johnny shouted and hurried to the side of his daughter.

He took her right hand firmly in his right hand and pressed Cassie's shoulders gently back onto the mattress. "It's alright, pumpkin." he whispered. "Daddy is here. Daddy is here for you!" But he suddenly flinched with a painful face as sharp fingernails cut into his wrist. "Damn ..." he cursed, but he didn't let go of his daughter's hand. Again she began to scream. "NO NO! Stay away from me!"  
She might not have an attack. But obviously a delusion.

Dr. Nephron tried desperately to find a viable vein on her left arm. "She has also destroyed her left catheter." He murmured. "General, I need you on my side! General!" He cried energetically. Sonya shrank briefly. It was just like a perfect nightmare. With rapid steps, she jumped to the doctor's side. Since she didn't want to see the syringe, she wrapped her left arm around Cassie's neck, her left hand encircling the one from Johnny. Her right hand rested on her trembling shoulder. She gently laid her cheek against her daughters, feeling the soft cotton bandage on her skin. Cassie whimpered quietly, and in her bursting breath came a bloody note.

"Shhh ... everything will be fine." She whispered to her daughter through the bandage. She didn't know if she could still hear her, because Dr. Nephron had now been able to apply the muscle relaxant. But she still felt the extremely fast pulse of her carotis on her chin. Her defenses became weaker. The carers could finally leave her. With her last strength Cassie turned her head to Sonya. Mother and daughter had been looking into each other's eyes for the first time since weeks. Her eyes were glazed with fear and pain. Cassie cried very weak as she tried to say something. "Not now Cassie ... I'm here for you!" Her mother whispered softly. With all her last strength, however, she managed to form a few words. "No Mum! He'll get me! Leatherface will get me!"

 **Wow, my "longest" chapter so far. No spoilers for the next chapter! It's a surprised. But I try to make an update as soon as possible.** **For those who hated time at the hospital: Don't worry, that's not forever!** **xD**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello folks, MasterFran is back at the start after a longer break. I wasn't at home for a long time, but had plenty of time to plan the next chapter. I spent a long time with my best friend in the hospital. She went through a difficult time as our poor Cassie. In thought of her, I also dedicate the next chapter to her. And also to you. Thanks to all followers and fans, please review again. Have a good time with Chapter 11. It gets serious.**

"Always nice and easy, Pumpkin! We're not on the run!" Bla, blah, blah. As much as Cassie enjoyed the closeness of her father, she was annoyed. No one seemed to show a real compassion as to how good this felt, again after almost a whole month in coma and then tied to the bed. Each step down the hallway, each step back into society, yes, it hurt. It was a disgusting toppling and pricking with every time Cassie was supposed to put weight on her injured knee again. But she didn't want to show any weakness.  
A hospital, no matter how nice the people are to you, drives you into deep madness. And the young soldier was in a hurry, and so she fought every day bravely through her physio. Her senior physician Dr. Nephron was extremely pleased with her progress. It is not to be underestimated how quickly a body can repair itself. Apart from her reconstructed knee, the other wounds healed without further complications. So yesterday the last two drains were finally pulled, one below the rib, the second out of her right groin.  
Only her face felt like crushed by a tank. From time to time, they had to regain their morphine dose when the pain was unbearable. There were still small nasty wounds, which still didn't want to heal properly. Cassie had not looked at her face openly in the mirror since she was awake again, cause it was always hidden under a thin mask of gauze bandages.  
Strangely enough, the nurses never talked about the progress of wound healing when they changed the bandage, yes, they even tried to divert attention from the subject. Still, Cassie didn't think anything great. She knew that she and her friends were badly attacked and hurt. Without a few (or some many) scars they will not get away. Today she would be able to meet Jacqui at least. Her threads would be drawn; Jacqui was the last of the three to need medical attention from the hospital. And again, a change of Cassie's headcast was planned in the next hour. Perhaps it would be the opportunity to see the face injury. It felt sometimes as if someone had pulled off her face. But it won't be so bad...

Johnny continued to watch as his daughter gently put one foot in front of the others. It would take a long time before she could completely strain her leg. But Cassie was so incredibly defiant and tenacious as she fought to finally be able to go home. That's why he never let her out of sight, Johnny was just too afraid that she was hurtig herself in arrogance.  
But he was still proud that she had achieved so much in such a short time, as usual. Only one thing bothered him. At he thought of today's cast change, the actor became bad. Cassie didn't know the extent of her injury. Too big was the doctors' fear that she won't be able to cope with the fatal blow in her very weak condition. Only a few times had Johnny seen her faceless-face. The first days, the wound looked terrible. The raw flesh quickly began to ignite, than fester, and crush. Accordingly, his daughter fevered very high in the first week when she was still in a coma. Meanwhile, the experienced internists could combat the inflammation and so there were only a few remained wet spots. If these had disappeared today, Cassie could even get along without a bandage.  
She was strong, brave and self-confident; Johnny knew that. But not even the best father in the world could guess how it would be in an hour with the certainty of having a daughter that has to live without a face forever. He could do nothing else but be there for her in the difficult time.

"Do not run so fast, old woman!" Suddenly a familiar voice shouted behind Cassie. She stumbled in horror with the broken leg and pulled it quickly not to scream. "Jacqui, for heaven's sake?" Her best friend just threw her arms around her shoulders. Jacqui swayed slightly. Cassie raised an eyebrow. "How did it go?" She proudly raised her arm and presented the scar, which stretched between the wrist and the elbow. "Looks good. May be loaded again! The metal, however, is probably left in there." She staggered a little. "But I tell you, pulling the threads was the absolute horroooooorrrr. They have probably given me some generous painkillers and goodie goodie drugs, as you can see." Cassie snorted. "Then go home before you puke here on the floor. Or turn on strange men. Uhm, I did that last time." She grimaced. "Bough, yuck. This is not going to happen. At least for me, that's it. No more bandages." The soldier scratched her headband. "Today they will change mine again. Maybe I'm lucky and I don't need any more after that." She said, watching as a shadow flashed across Jacqui's face.  
"Do you want me to stay?" She suddenly asked with an unusually serious tone. She shrugged. "If you are bored. But it is only a change of association. "She was slightly surprised, after all, they were best friends, but not even small children. Jacqui tried to look into her eyes, but her gaze always twitched on the cold ground. "Because I thought, if you do not know yet, then someone should ..." Somehow the words went out to her. "What do I not know? What are you talking about? "Cassie tried to take her hand, but her friend just pulled her into a quick hug. "Nothing nothing. Have forgotten that Dad already want to pick me up now." She murmured. "Take care of yourself, girlfrind!" With these words, she broke away from the embrace and walked with quick steps towards the elevator. She was clearly afraid. But before what?

Johnny watched the conversation from a safe distance. When Jacqui came to him, he grabbed her by the shoulder. "What was that?" He hissed. She looked at him, with a trace of despair. "Sorry, I just slipped out. It was not on purpose." He sighed deeply and tried to remain serious. "I know that it is wrong to hide the whole truth from her. Today it will be different. And I want to prepare her carefully before she cannot handle it. Do you understand?" Jacqui nodded heavily. "Yes, Uncle Johnny." He closed her briefly into his arms, only for a moment. He knew she wanted to be with her best friend, but Jacqui was in the wrong condition on the other hand. It was better to keep her out of the matter. Even Sonya had decided to stay at work. Johnny thought about their conversation from last night. "Please be with her when she learns. I have already failed in her childhood as a mother. I do not want to destroy her life by telling her." Rarely did Johnny see such an emotional side of her.

He let Jacqui go as Dr. Nephron appeared. A short look of the men gave both to understand: It is time. He had agreed that Cassie should know everything only in the presence of her treated doctor. But he wouldn't leave his gold treasure alone, he wanted to be strong for her. Johnny went to the bathroom under a pretext. From outside, he heard Cassie go back to her room. He clung to the sink. She had no idea. Poor Cassie. His poor little girl. Johnny pulled himself together, left the bathroom and pushed the door to room 6. Dr. Nephron had built a half-circle around Cassie's bed with three nurses. Normally, he was a busy man who always carried a stethoscope around his neck like a nerd and a stack of cards in his arms. Not today. He was not needed.

She sat on her bed, her legs slightly drawn to her stomach and her arms around. She was wearing a light gray jogging trousers, over her white-blue training jacket. Just as she was just sitting there looking around with her special self-assurance, Cassie looked so peaceful. She was simply an angel who had gone through so much. Johnny wanted to protect her, stop this action. It was not fair. And yet he had to realize bitterly that some truths should not be concealed.

Of course, she was unaware that day! Nevertheless, Cassie had the feeling that she was deprived of something. She guessed it all the time. Jacqui behaved strangely. And now half the hospital was sitting around her bed, including her father. Dr. Nephron even made a personal effort to resolve the cast today. "Perhaps it is now time that you no longer need it." Murmured he, while a layer came off after the other. And then it was gone. An unpleasant cold passed through every pore of her skin. As if someone was pouring an ice-cold milkshake into her face; She had never experienced such a thing before. The others silently watched her reaction. Certainly it was only because her head was wrapped in a bandage. It would go again. An uncomfortable silence filled the room.  
"Well." Cassie tried to start a conversation. "How does it look?" It was as if Nephron had put a backpipe, so he shrank. He hesitantly put on a pair of rubber gloves and gently touched her lower jaw with his fingers. It was not the pain that caused her to contract at the touch. No, it was that it did not feel like skin on skin. It reminded her as the doctors had anointed the scabbed skin on her shins. She saw Dr. Nephron in the eyes. Was there a trace of sadness? "No more pusher herds, young Miss Cage. I think you'll be able to get rid of your antibiotics." Something was wrong.

 _What did you all hide_? "But what?" She asked spontaneously. Now it was serious. He looked straight into her eyes. "Can you remember our first survey? To the attack?" A red lightning in front of her eyes, a knife blade, the howling of a chainsaw, the howling of her own screams. She pinched her eyes quickly to drive the horrible image out of her memory. Dr. Nephron came to the point. "He had inflicted terrible damage to you. And we were able to restore almost everything. But he took you something we could not restore." Cassie didn't look into his eyes anymore.  
Instead, she turned for help to her father, but his gaze was as desperate as her. "But I don't understand! I thought the wounds had healed and I'm loosing this bandage now because of my wounds ..." Regardless, she grabbed her forehead and froze instantly. That was all but no facial skin which she just touched with her fingers. That pulsed and lived under her tips. Her fingers felt like needle strokes. And her forehead like a frenzied piece of bacon. Her wordless look found again the eyes of Nephron, but there was no more warmth, no despair or sadness.

Only the ice cold certainty. Her worst fears, the nightmares that she was experiencing at regular intervals; All of a sudden they became true. "There was a second reason why we've been wrapping a bandage for so long." Cassie did not answer anymore. Instead she grabbed her nightcloth with shaky fingers and pulled her little make-up mirror from the top drawer. It was the first time after a month that Cassie was looking at herself. Maybe even one last time. Actually, she was familiar with her facial features. She never painted much. Her skin had a nice, even color, adorned with freckles on her nose. A small bruise remained from her training struggle with Jin over her left eye. Now she vainly sought her bruise. And her freckles. And her face. Because was no longer there.

 **It will be even more difficult to continue this story. Because that was just the beginning. The most difficult time is yet to come. The way back to life.**


	12. Chapter 12

**If I missed my promised deadline I apologize very much for it! Also, no world-moving events happen in this chapter. But maybe a few new pages from our dearest general. This chapter is dedicated to Sonya Blade. I wish you much fun with the next chapter, as always you can leave a comment and look back when I publish the next chapter.**

The four children ran in an inseparable quartet through the streets in a small suburb. A great athletic man was always close to them. Actually, they would do without him. But he didn't want to miss the fun of the children. He proudly held his camera up and wandered over the surrounding row of houses where likewise small dark figures stormed from door to door and hit the bell with a quiet giggle. "Trick or Treat!". Something tugged carefully on his sleeve. In the lantern light he caught onto the video the small face of Cassie Cage. Today she had wanted to make her makeup all alone.  
She had tied her blond hair in two thin braids, and was dressed up in an old military robe from her mother. Despite her Mom Sonya was not really big, the little Cassie looked like at home in her bathrobe. Only her toes were visible and since she did not get her hands out of the uniform she wore her captured sweets tied around the tummy. However, to play the Queen of Halloween today, she had come up with a very grotesque face painting. With a lot of light and dark red make-up and a brown foodcolour, she had pimped her face intensively. She looked as if a Tarkatan had eaten the face of his sweet little daughter.  
Frightening and scary, but Johnny felt that it was an accomplishment for a six-year-old. "You make me really scared, Pumpkin!" He called to her. She looked mischievously at the camera. "I told you, Daddy. I'm Necro-Cassie Cage!" She clenched her small fists and hissed playfully as she approached Takeda, who was not happy at all in his dracula costume. "Forget it Cass, you do not scare me." He remained calm and stuffed a few caramels in the mouth. Cassie raised her fists indignantly. "But I am the frightening faceless! Tremble before me when I absorb Earthrealms Power!"

With pleasure, she smeared the artificial blood on her costume. "Then back away, disgusting creature! We must save the world from you and your sight!" Kung Jin proudly held up his plastic hat, a fake one of his great cousin Kung Lao. He wasn't a small monster, but he had a lot of fun on the roster. Cassie blew a red bubble gum in front of him. "I'm glad it's just a mask. Daddy, imagine that would be all real! Disgusting right?"  
Johnny ruffled through her hair. "Then you would almost as ugly as the face-eating butterface Mileena!" He pinched and tickled her at her neck. Cassie squeaked with joy. She loved the annual Halloween, the rumbling with her friends, eating sweets and, of course, frightening the people with frightening faces. And every night, when she got a kiss before falling asleep, she was very happy just to be Cassie and not a disfigured, ugly monster...

It was over 15 years ago and yet Cassie had to think about this past Halloween as if it was only yesterday. As if she had kicked off her death that day. Apathetically, she looked through the windows in the interior of Mother's Mercedes. It was the 9th of September and also the weather was like an early autumn day. Actually, she should look forward to this day, of course, she secretly did it, but she was just not after celebrations. The day of her dismissal after a total stay of 41 days was a gift from the gods for all relatives and friends. Cassie became a medical miracle because she survived only after a long struggle for life and death.  
But she hadn't only lost her face that night, she had lost something deep in her soul on that day with which she had experienced the terrible certainty. She didn't know what it was, her joy of life, her courage, her hope, or all three. It was erased from her heart, just like her face. Her mother took her alone today, as Johnny was called to an important meeting for 3 weeks to Hollywood. Originally Johnny had refused, he would rather cancel the job before let his daughter down, but Cassie assured him that it's ok. Does it make a difference whether Dad or Mum were with her? Nobody could help her anyway.

With a final delicate signature, General Sonya Blade signed her daughter's discharge papers. Actually, it would have been Cassie's personal task but her mental condition had deteriorated in the last days so that they had decided to send the young soldier home early. However, she refused treatment by a psychologist. Sonya took it upon herself to take care of her physically and mentally broken child. Once in her life, she finally wanted to prove that she maybe could be a good mother. Dr. Nephron was unfortunately not present today, but he had deposited Cassie's admission note for her.  
She put it in her handbag, Sonya would read it as soon as they were back home. Cassie already knew the content, whether she had completely processed it was, of course, the other question. A nice team of nurses had helped her daughter down to the car. She was still dependent on crutches, but she could move well outside the bed again. In at least 3-4 weeks all wounds and injuries should be completely healed. Until of course the one thing.

The rain lashed Sonya violently in the face as she left the hospital for a last time, which was also a part of her everyday life and her thoughts for so long. Unfortunately, she hadn't packed an umbrella in her bag and so she was soaking wet when she finally reached her Mercedes. Quickly she tore open the car door, threw her handbag on the back seat, and quickly closed the door behind her. A few seconds there was silence in the car. She took the time to undo her soaked jacket and wipe the wet strands from her forehead. Only then Sonya threw a first glance at Cassie. Her daughter was sitting next to her on the passenger seat, her light black silk trousers, over her a dark red jacket. Her legs were drawn to her belly, she looked expressionlessly out of the window into the storm, the hood pulled as far as she could, covering her distorted face.  
Cassie didn't react as her mother got to her car and started the engine. She showed no emotions, but squatted apathetically in her seat. "Are you cold? Should I turn up your seat heating?" The General tried to ask cautiously. No reaction, only a barely visible shoulder twitch. Exhausted, Sonya heated the car, then went off, left the parking lot and mother and daughter were on their way in the direction of highway. In about 3 hours they would be home if there was no big traffic. It was still raining. Slowly it was finally warm in the interior and her goose bumps back down. Despite the noise from outside, there was an uncomfortable silence in the car. It brought Sonya to the brink of despair.

She didn't know how she could help Cassie out of her deep swamp of lost self-confidence. It was always a reason for her to be jealous of Johnny: his paternal charisma and his talent as a born family man. She should stand as a mother of Cassie in the foreground, but it was just not that Mum Cassie would have perhaps desired. Or she herself. Was that the trigger for her withdrawing cause of her jealousy into her work? The radio continued to rattle in the background. Severe weather was reported for the entire next week. Fortunately, she had requested leave until Johnny returned from his meeting. In the current situation they didn't want to leave Cassie alone at home. Certainly it was possible at some time that she could go back to the Special Forces, maybe it was time to resume the training in four to six weeks.  
Perhaps it was a way to rebuild her self-esteem. But until then, she needed as much rest as possible, especially outside the turbulent hospital.  
On the horizon the sun slowly set. Mother and daughter still didn't speak a word. Cassie had barely stirred in her seat, she stared impassively ahead on the wet asphalt. What could she say? Was she too cold or too hot? Perhaps she was hungry? Thoughts about thoughts and yet she could not grasp anyone. The traffic and weather news had come to an end, and now a very well-known song came out of the radio. It almost made her sad. "But just because it burns does not mean you're gonna die, you gotta get up and try, try, try...".  
Silent sobs pushed for her, but not her own. Beside her sat Cassie and a tear ran over the flesh of her cheek. Sonya said nothing. She just grabbed her daughter's hand and held her tight until she stopped crying.

It was shortly after half past twelve in the night when the two finally reached the villa. Cassie had already pulled her crutches from the back seat on the driveway. "Do you need an umbre ..?" Sonya didn't finish the question, because Cassie was already stalking toward the gravel, undisturbed by the dreadful weather. Shaking her head, Sonya grabbed her handbag, jacket and umbrella. She had caught her daughter already on the middle of the stairs. She gasped hard and had to lean on her crutches, not to go to the ground. She was completely soaked, the rainwater ran down her face.  
Sonya stretched out a hand to help her, but Cassie just shook her head energetically, limping up the steps. She had never wanted to show any weakness. At least she had not given up on this. She continued bouncing on the good leg over the door, after Sonya had open the door, spreading dirty footprints on the floor. Sonya went into the dining room, hung her wet jacket over a chair and crept further to the coffee machine. It was midnight, too late to rinse caffeinated drinks. But still she did not want to go to sleep, she couldn't. She quietly listened to the sounds on the upper floor, the clicking of the crutches and finally how a door fell into the lock.

Sonya sipped her cappuccino. Perhaps her daughter would finally regain her strength again in a more intimate setting, even if it was terribly thundering outside. She was a little dizzy. Even in the fatal night there had been such a storm. Lost in thought, she stared out the window into the dark night. Was Leatherface still out there? Who were the next victims in 40 years? Anger rose in her. Why hadn't anyone listened to her, or to her father? They guessed, no, they knew that it was happening. And yet the government did nothing, and despite her high rank in the military the SF was still powerless. Yes, she knew it. And yet she hadn't protected Cassie in time. Failing again as a mother.

Also for Sonya it was time to rest. So she put her cup down and went up the stairs. Everywhere, boot prints adorn the clean floor. Still no reason for her to be angry. Not today. As Sonya just passed Cassie's room door, she heard a soft sob. Impossible that she was sleeping. "Cassie?" She knocked at her door. Nothing happened, except that the sobbing were now shrill cries, which soon drowned the rumble of the thunder outside. Sonya tore open the door, stumbling over her Cassie's shoes and her crutches, which were in the entrance. Her daughter was lying on the bed. She squatted on her mattress and had already heavy bruises on her wrists, obviously she had hit the wall with it.  
And she cried, over and over again: "Get away from me, Leatherface. Stay away from me!" She stuck to her neck in her ever-recurring nightmare. Sonya quickly sat down on the bedclothes and shook her on the shoulders: "Sergeant! Wake up! Immediately. It's just a dream!" Cassie opened her glassy eyes. But she still didn't seem to be awake. "Leatherface, Leatherface ..." Sonya shook her again. "Cassie! It's me! He is not here!" She blinked several times. "Mum ..." She breathed heavily. Her hair was wet, this time of cold sweat. And she trembled violently. Gingerly, the general drew another blanket to cover Cassie.  
Then she rocked the young woman back and forth, as she was a little kid, until the whimpering ended. Her chest lifted and lowered slowly, until she almost fell asleep on her lap. "Please, don't go." She whispered barely audibly. She stroked her over her light blonde hair and gazed intently, without fear in her skin free face. "I'll be there. Forever, my darling!"

 **MasterFran wishes you all, Guests, Favs and Followers a good start into new week from the UAE!  
See you soon!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A new update for the story, finally! After all the longer chapters, number 13 will be a bit shorter than the others. For this, I will upload fast chapters 14 and 15 as fast as possible! I'll really try to do it! Have fun.**

Exhausted, Cassie fell down on her bed, pulled her blanket up to her neck, and turned to the wall. In her eyes was a distant memory as her sight wandered over the bronze, silver, and gold plaques, badges, and trophies in the dark room. In the middle was her pride and joy: her diploma certificate with her appointment to lieutenant. It was only a year and a half ago, at a time when the world was still in order. There was only the end of the world, Shinnok, and an embittered general, who was called her mother and whom she deeply loved, despite all the circumstances.

A last spark of determination glowed in her. Tomorrow was her first day back in the military after the horror-accident of the four friends. In a major discussion with her father and secretary Blake, they succeeded in persuading him to use her again as the leader of her team, consisting of Jacqui, Takeda and Kung Jin. Cassie knew at the same time that this was her last chance. She had experienced severe depression and paranoia, these mental misfires were not allowed to happen again. Her job was her last salvation. With this thought, she slept slowly and was soon back in her worst nightmare.

Still sweaty from a sleepless and disastrous night, the soldier struggled through the silt. Every step, especially the knee, was still an effort. At least the pain was now justifiable. Through the slots of her mask, she pursued the positions of her team companions. While Jacqui was close to Cassie, Takeda and Jin secured the environment for remaining training sessions and dangerous items. Team Epsilon had discovered an old bomb in an abandoned telegraph house in the immediate vicinity of the practice area of the soldiers. This was presumably from a past Outworld war, still active and potentially dangerous but very easy to turn off with the right tool. Now it was the task for Cassie and her team to safely defuse this bomb without bothering the troops nearby. For Cassie, it was the ultimate chance to get back in front of Secretary Blake and restore her old rank.

They reached the shelter about 500 meters away from their target. This bomb may be easy to defuse, but it still possessed an impressive explosive force. Cassie and Takeda took their positions in the control center of the shelter, while Jacqui as the bomb specialist and Kung Jin attached the necessary tools on the bomb, which allowed Cassie via a remote control to defuse it safely.

Cassie stroked the dashboard with her frigid fingers. She had done this so many times, why did she suddenly has a disturbing feeling? Her headset crackled. "You can start, we move towards you, in about four minutes. Briggs' out!"  
"It's time?" Takeda had taken his position of observation. He would still keep an eye on every little detail. What Cassie didn't know was that he was employed as a secret observer by Secretary Blake. He could intervene if Cassie felt uncomfortable with her work. If he would knew it be so different...

Cassie took a deep breath. Then she slowly entered her password, releasing her joystick. With careful movements, she unlocked the case with the remote-controlled robotic arms and released the inner life of the bomb. For a layman it was the game "red or blue wire". Cassie war really a pro in it. But as she maneuvered the little tools to the cables, she became very queasy. Jacqui had had to replace the scissors with two small sharp knives. These, of course, were better suited for the flat cabling than tongs or scissors, but the sight of a sharp blade dissolved something in it. Her fingers began to tremble. She saw another blade in front of the inner eye. Blood smeared, with her intestines. Someone took her arm.

"Cass, is everything all right?" From the corner of her eye, she only saw the blades of his whip. Again a knife. Cassie couldn't prevent it. Takeda's boyish face was transformed before her eyes in an ugly grimace. "Leatherface!" It was more a growl from her throat than a scream. Her hand already touched the handles of her gun. Takeda raised his hands protectively against his body and slowly went backwards. "Cassie. Take them down! I don't want to hurt you. You hallucinate!" With his left hand, he tapped his headset carefully. "Guys, I think she has a relapse! Please make sure you get it. Get help immediately!" Cassie didn't move a muscle. She just straightened her gun against her friend, in her eyes reflected the sheer madness. "You hurt me before! You will not do it again! I don't let that happen!" Takeda could smell it, her pure fear. And then the first shot was fired. Luckily Cassie had clearly miscalculated, but the bullet still had scratched his calf hard. Takeda reacted instinctively. His whip wrapped around her legs and before she could shoot again the young warrior tore her off her feet. The soldier hit her chest hard ahead on to the concrete floor. It took her breath for a few seconds. Takeda threw himself at her and tried to hold Cassie on the ground until she came back to herself. However, a sacrifice in fear of death was truly unpredictable. Pain spread through his face as her fist hit him right on the back of his nose and it gave way with a crunching noise. Takeda crashed backwards and pressed his right hand against the blunting that shot from his broken nose. He crawled farther back behind a pillar because Cassie was already back on her legs and had pointed him as her target. It was unreal and so quickly passed by. The second shot was aimed directly at his chest. But the bullet bounced off his bullet-proof armor and then hit the console. At that moment, a loud blast came over the entire terrain as the bomb exploded.

 **To make it short for all: No, I'm not a bomb specialist! I just needed a reason to spoil Cassie's day (oops, of course I wasn't so serious), It all belongs to the storyline! xD**


	14. Chapter 14

**My dear readers, it goes on with chapter 14. It was very difficult for me to convey Cassie's feelings and I will express them again in the next chapter. Have fun with the new chapter. MasterFran forever =) !**

"Four people wounded during the explosion, three soldiers attacked in the shelter, and half the training area put into ruins!" The squat man pounded his fist onto his desk. "Damn it, it's to much, General! I have enough!" Sonya tried to stay with her pulse far down, but her blood was already boiled. "Secretary Blake, if you give her a chance ...". With a fierce creaking, Secretary August Blake dropped into his office chair. "I gave her a chance. And this opportunity is lost. My goodness, Sonya, come to the point. It's over. We will not be able to use Sergeant Cage anymore!"

It hit her deeply in the heart and she simply didn't want to believe that because of today's action, Cassie threatened a permanent suspension of the military service. It took two more men to pull Cassie off Takeda. She nearly would have been shot in her rage if Takeda wouldn't have managed to overload her senses, and would take her down at the last moment. He and four other soldiers, including Jacqui and Kung Jin, were in the ambulance right now. Luckily the injuries were not serious, which hurt more was the shock. Cassie was locked as a precaution in an isolation cell until she could think clearly again. Only that in the meantime the entire SF had learned from her outburst.

"Sonya." Blake said again, this time quieter. "I appreciate what Sergeant Cage has done for the SF in the last years, and I have always admired not only her fighting abilities, but also her unique character. And I wish this asshole forever a cruel revenge that has done this to her. But the SF is the military. And no psychiatry. Cage is psychologically extremely unstable and will always remain reticent. And for her own protection and our recruits, I won't get around to suspend her from work in the future."

"You cannot do that!" Sonya whispered urgently. "The SF is the only thing that gives her strength and support now. How does she react when she loses her job, which she has always loved the most?"

"I'm sorry, General. But it is best for all of us if she remains in a stable environment. Away from the SF." Sonya became impatient. "And what do you think will become of her? Should I haul her to the psycho-doctor for the rest of her life? Or take family therapy?" Blake sighed. "Your family affairs don't concern me. From experience, I only say that in such exceptional cases neither work, or family, or a psychiatrist, is going to help. What she really needs to restore her fearless self-confidence is someone who understands her." She raised an eyebrow. "You mean someone who has a similar fate?" "Yes, something like that." She had to squeeze a hoarse laugh. "Well, I don't know anyone. And I don't want anyone to run through the world with a ruined face."

She fell silent. Had she really just said that? It was just ridiculous, the whole situation. Cassie was losing her job and she, as a messed-up mother, should organize a soul-killer. That wouldn't even go this far, cause Cassie would be destroyed, when she knew. She would have no choice but to call Johnny and ask him to come home sooner. He was perhaps the only one who could help. Or indeed they need someone who can empathize with Cassie in the right way.

Cassie shrank from her sea of drugs as her cell door was pushed open. Her head ached as if she had run several times against the wall. It sounded louder than Big Ben in her ears. In the entrance of the cell stood Major Toby, they knew each shortly of a training course, many months ago. He looked more unkempt than then, with a stubbled beard and his uniform, which was old and frail. And he had apparently forgotten his mood in the past. "Sergeant, I have come to dismiss you in advance." He said quite roughly. Cassie staggered to the door while Toby took a step to the side. "Secretary Blake send you? What happened? And how are the others?" The Major stayed away. "Talk to the secretary and the general in private. It doesn't matter to me." She could easily feel this disgusted attitude when he looked into her eyes. She realized that her mask had to be taken down. Confused, she stumbled back through the isolation road toward the elevators leading up to the main base. When the floor was pressed, her fingers floated over the UG 4 button, which led directly into the ambulance rooms. Should she inquire about her friends? She hesitated briefly, but then she chose the floor which would lead to the office of the secretary. Cassie was trembling all over her body, perhaps it was an after-effect of the sedative, but also her fear of facing her friends after her attack. For she could remember everything until the moment Takeda had made her incapacitated. She could have slaughtered him in her delusion. Or the arriving soldiers would have made her cold without hesitation. The metal luster of the elevator reflected her face. She stared at it with a mixture of horror and disgust _. Just see what you have done. You could have killed your friends. You are the disgust of all men. Maybe you're just as much a monster as Leatherface. An ugly, repulsive monster ..._

The corridor was empty, except for two young soldiers, who were staring at her as if from a different planet. As Cassie walked past them, the two hurriedly moved away, talking intently to each other and giving her sympathetic glances. Cassie didn't know what to say to Secretary Blake. That she is sorry? That something like this never happens again? Would he listen to her at all? It was more disturbing to think of her mum. Certainly she was now the spot of the entire OAI, a professional as a general, with a mentally ill offspring. All because of herself.

But as she passed the office of the secretary, she paused. Cassie heard him speak intently to someone and then the familiar voice of her mother. So she was already here. And Cassie got it all, secretly outside the door. Their entire conversation, her career end, her life _. I don't want anyone to run through the world with a ruined face._ Cassie stopped listening. As if in a trance, she just ran out of the building. No one paid attention to them. It was just fine. No one should see how distorted she was. One thing was certain, she had to leave. Quickly she looked around. She couldn't possibly steal one of the foreign service vehicles, she was not at GTA. But then she remembered the general's motorbike ...

It was late afternoon when the young soldier disappeared in a dust cloud from the base of the SF. A few people outside the building had watched her escape, but she didn't care. It was just everything shit no matter. Because she had made a decision.

"To all my fans. Here is Johnny Cage! No, that was a joke, I caged you good! Maybe I'm just in the set, who would like to go with me for a drink, please leave a message. See you later!" _Damn Johnny_. Sonya could have shot him, chased a grenade to Hollywood after she couldn't reach him the third time in a row outside the door. She sent a short bump into the sky before she spoke. "Hey, Johnny, it's me. You know that it is very unpleasant for me to ask you for something but things are getting out of hand here. I do not want to explain it on the phone. But Cassie needs you here. And I need you too ... Please, come home as quickly as possible."

She hung up. Sonya hadn't been so depressed for a long time. It was pointless to negotiate something. Cassie was suspended. And probably for life. The reason was called PTSD, posttraumatic stress disorder. She may be a general, but she can't mess with Secretary Blake and the highest councilors.

Now it was Cassie's turn to face the secretary. Blake let order her into his office. "At the office in Tract 4 B, please send Sergeant Cage to my office. Thank you." A few seconds passed, then a short answer followed. "Sergeant Cage is not here. Major Toby Thomson sent her out of her cell not so long ago with the order that she go to your office. I cannot say more." The soldier ended the conversation. Blake tugged at his chin indecisively. "Where is she going?" Sonya shrugged. "Her transmitter should still be activated. Perhaps you'll get her there." Blake rummaged through a page of numbers before finding Cassie's through-dial. "Sergeant Cage, this is Secretary Blake. Please come to my office immediately. I ask for a brief confirmation." They both waited, but nothing happened. "I repeat again. Sergeant Cage, here is Secretary Blake. Please come to my office immediately. Please confirm." Again nothing happened. The secretary breathed in and out again. "General, please find out where Sergeant Cage is, and send her to me. There are enough soldiers in the base. At least one must have observed something and know where she is."

She was swallowed as if by the ground. Sony's last point was that a few soldiers watched her as she had left the base through a side entrance. She tried to calm herself, maybe Cassie was just catching some fresh air after all the excitement. But also when Sonya stood in front of the base, her daughter was nowhere to be discovered. A lonely man smoked his cigarette on the wall.

"I haven't seen Cage directly." The soldier coughed Sonya a nicotine cloud. "But a motorcycle left here about 30 minutes ago. It had been very hurried." There were not many motorbikes here and Sonya had to be 100% sure. Her fears were confirmed when she opened her private garage. Only one other person knew her access data, forbidden. Her motorcycle was gone. Cassie was gone.

Sonya left the work without signing off, again. But she had to hurry, she didn't know what Cassie was up to but it was her last chance to catch her on the highway. She spontaneously struck the route leading to her home. Since Johnny was not living in his condo at the time, the house of her mother was her only point of contact. The sun was already very low in the sky as Sonya reached her house. For a moment she was relieved when she saw that the front door was open. Cassie had to have stolen into the house. But the next moment, she was unsure how to bring her the next terrible news, because it would break both of their hearts. When Sonya entered the corridor, it was brightly lit. But still no trace of Cassie, but a sound from the kitchen. "Honey, I'm home!". It was Johnny, who was just being rushed into her. "Goodness, will you scare the shit outta me again?!" He gave her a fleeting kiss on the cheek. "I'm just trying to get into horror movies without guarantee." he said amused. "I'm glad you could come so fast. How did you even get here so fast?" He waved his hand. "My car is still in the wrong parking lot, so Tony took me quickly here. The rest is secret a la Cage."

She wasn't good at talking to his bad jokes at all at the moment and still glad to have him back with her. "Cassie will certainly have been happy ..." He raised an eyebrow. "I haven't seen her yet. I thought she was working with you. "She shook her head. "She left suddenly with my motorbike. Where else is she going? "Johnny seemed to have not quite understood the seriousness of the situation yet. Something was wrong. "Maybe we'll find something in her room. Perhaps she was already there before us, who knows, I also got here a few minutes ago. Even though I do not think it. She must have had a reason to sneak off the ground so quickly."

Sonya was already running up the stairs to her room. The door was not locked. In Cassie's room there was a yawning emptiness, a cold draft of wind made her shudder. Her neck hair stood up as she saw that her door to the balcony was open. Normally Cassie was one of the youngsters who locked everything in their room. This could mean only one thing. She WAS here. And now had moved on again, but why? This reason Sonya saw with a look on her bed. There was something metal, golden on her bedcloth. Cassie's badge! Beside it a somewhat crumpled note. With shaky fingers, the General unfolded the paper, and with horror she deciphered the words Cassie had written there:

… _Farewell …_

 **At this point, I make a cut again, but I try to publish the next chapter as soon as possible. I thank you for reading! MasterFran 3**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello, my dear folks, I am back again. And excuse me in advance, that it took so long but I had really much to do and of course I hung up when writing and thought "should I let it come this way or is it too nasty?" I deliver you today Chapter 15 of The Lostface, of course, hope that you like it, even** **if many of you can predict the plot,** **and that you be back again when I publish the next chapter. I have updated both my profile and of course the title picture, have a look and leave a comment as if you like it! But now I stop stalking, have fun! Love you, guys!  
**

Why did she decide to do what she was doing? For Cassie the journey was now over. She could have had many decades, a general like her mother, a hero like her father, maybe once get marry, have children ... But now her fate was sealed. One night had changed her life forever. She may remained alive thanks to the skill of surgeons, but her soul couldn't be saved. You cannot even claim that she didn't try. But she had screwed her last comeback. And there was no chance of reparation. So what was the reward for living? She no longer saw any meaning in it. No sense.

Cassie managed to enter the room without a thought through a window before the General noticed her disappearance. Her pen hovered over a piece of paper. She could not go without words or a last letter. Her father would be destroyed, and her mother would swallow a gun. For a moment she hesitated. It had to be different way, and she didn't have to do it. Cassie closed her eyes and breathed deeply. When she opened her eyes again and stared at her note, there was a word: _Farewell_. Her sign that she had no choice but to go through all this. Or not? Annoyed, Cassie crushed the piece of paper and threw it behind the wall, where the ball remained on her bed. Slowly she walked over and stared at the wall. Everywhere there were pictures of her life, when everything was still good and in order. Her fingers stroked a collage that Jacqui had given her two years ago for her birthday: the four friends, at work, at Halloween, at championships, in the swimming pool ... An inseparable quartet. How would they react if they were only a trio? Cassie had several pictures of her father and herself too. She took one of the wall. It was very old, she was perhaps seven years old in the photo. Johnny had taken her to the Copacabana. Cassie herself sat laughing with an ice on the shoulders of her dad. Lost in thought, she took it back to his place. Why is life not fair? It could have been so easy at it always was.

Cassie looked at the wall clock. It was 6:18 P.M. Certainly her mum had already noticed her absence. Maybe she would show up here as well. It was time to leave. She took her badge from her uniform and put it on her bedspread. Her last gift to her family. Cassie hesitantly went back to her balcony door. When she was on the threshold, she turned around for the last time, glancing at the bright faces of her life, which would soon be a thing of the past. A single tear drops from her eye and her lips moved briefly, "Yes, Farewell ..."

Carefully, she hanged herself down the gutter. Cassie could have just easily let go, hoping that she would break her fucking neck on the impact. But that was definitely too risky that it could go wrong. For a short time, she tried again to ban the subject from her head. Maybe the evening air would cool her down a little bit. It was a lovely night, starry, with pleasant temperatures, a hint of wind. Cassie was often involved in an assignment at night. But no matter how exhausting the mission was or how many bruises she could count on her arms and legs; a night as quiet as this she had always relaxed. She could find to herself in peace.

But the further Cassie moved away from home, the more her heart grew darker. It was the right decision. But how she would do it was a mystery to herself. To give her the bullet? Definitely the most painless way. It was only after the failed mission that they had taken all her weapons. Even if she were able to take another gun from a surprised solider, hoping that a last bullet would be in order to shoot herself, it was a waste of time. And too much excitement for everyone involved. Death by hanging? Getting a rope was no problem. Also the attachment should be a children's play.

But for Cassie excluded after she never like it when something went to her throat, so therefore, plan eliminated! Cut her veins? In contrast to a shotgun, they had enough knives at home. The sharp blade of a vegetable knife would already have enough strength to paralyze the main supply lines of her body. Only she didn't have the courage to hurt herself with a knife, especially as Cassie didn't want to go to the grave with her recurring nightmares, as Leatherface slit her with his knife and his chainsaw in tiny pieces. Hara-Kiri? An honorable way, Scorpion, Kenshi and Takeda would at least be proud of her, wouldn't they? But there was again the problem with the knife.

It was not the case that Cassie waved the motorcycle several times. She was now at about 70 mph. If she was going straight to a wall or a tree, it would certainly be enough to make a quick end to herself. But she just couldn't do this. She was afraid of the unbearable pain that would come to her when she survived, again. Her body always refused instinctively against something like death. Otherwise, she would never have survived the battle with Leatherface.

She was now completely out of all civilization, somewhere at the end of an unnamed road. Cassie tried to find the GPS in this area. The next settlement was 18 miles away. So there was at least the chance that she would remain undetected. She looked around. Not far from her, down in the ravine, the sea rushed. From the rising moon, a bridge was illuminated and this led directly to an island. Cassie's eyes grew bigger and her breath quickened as she stared at her phone. For it was not just any island, but none other than… Shang Tsung's island. And suddenly she knew what to do.

Nearly thirty years ago this place was the source of all evil, the cause of wars and the birth of Mortal Kombat. The time when Raiden's strongest warriors, among them John Carlton Cage and Lieutenant Sonya Blade, had to defend their home against Shao Khan and his army. These times were now over. Today the island was more or less deserted. Occasionally a tourist destination, with many people avoiding this terrible place for fear. Not least because of the pit. An abandoned fighting place. The place where Kano attacked her mother and almost threw her father into the death. And now, more than 20 years later, their offspring is standing there at the same point. Her father involuntarily, now Cassie in the full possession of her mental powers. Why did she choose the pit? Cassie didn't know for sure, but her feeling gave her that there was no more worthy place to end her suffering.

With a slightly queasy feeling, she stared over the edge of the bridge, where it had to go at least 30 meters deep. You could still see the rotten parts of some corpses, stacked on top of the other, not to mention the masses of skulls on the messy peaks stretching over the mighty pillars. All the people, whose existence everyone had forgotten. Now she would belong to this too. If she didn't die immediately by the deadly impact, she would be impaled, her arms would be cut off, and no one would ever been looking for her, there in this accursed, deserted place.

Now it was serious. Attached to one of the giant dragon claws, she slowly withdrew from a certain point of view into the deadly position. For a long time she held herself in a sitting position, trying to breathe calmly, then Cassie closed her eyes, clutched with her hands, so she could slowly lean forward. Then she opened her eyes again, and her breath stopped.  
Cassie clung to the tab, trembling, and stared down into the abyss. Adrenaline shot through her body. Her brain was paralyzed with fear and held back before the deadly leap. But she wanted to listen to her mind. There was no way around it, to put an end to it. Cassie pinched her eyes and bit her teeth together. Tears rose in her. "Damn!" She shouted into the deadly ravine. "I have to do this! It's all over! What's the point for me to stay alive?" Violent sobs came over her. "My sense to live? I am disfigured. Forever! I am a nothing, absolutely nothing ..."

It was time to say goodbye. Forever.

 **Puh, it was probably not my best chapter, because I was just hard to write about it, because it is shocking for me to think about such a situation. So then, it looks like the story is over here. She will jump and will not get away with her life this time. Or not? Find it out in the next chapter ;) Your MasterFran!  
PS: Is one of you a good draftsman for devianart? I would be happy if someone wants to capture the most important moment of my story in pictures! Write me a PM, I'm looking forward to your ideas!**


	16. Chapter 16

**I didn't plan to publish the next chapter after such a short time! To maintain the tension I originally wanted to wait, but I hate waiting!**

 **So what's up guys, now, here we are again! Just like old times. People, who thought that my story ended with Cassie's suicide in the last chapter… BUSTED! :D**

It was the moment she began to lean forward for the lethal leap. When she opened her eyes, however, she no longer stared into the abyss, but into two dangerously flashing yellow eyes. Cassie stumbled back into safety with a cry of horror. But she forgot in her excitement, that the bridge was not very wide as she suddenly stumbled unrestrained over the edge of the other side. Face to face with deadly spines, Cassie crashed into the abyss. _Oh man, that's it_ , she thought or as her Dad would say: The plan was not mature. That wasn't planned at all. But suddenly she felt violent drag at her right arm. Someone had grabbed her. Cassie's upper body bounced hard against the wall of the rock, and she would have nearly pulled her unknown savior with her into death. But now she hung on Life's edge. With her left hand, which was bloody and torn, she clung to the rock while another hand pulled on her arm. All thoughts about suicide were forgotten at that moment and she was aware of the stupidity she had almost begun. Just one thing matters right now, she just wanted to be safe. But the stones were slippery and desperate she clung to the unknown hand. With a strong pull, she was dragged backwards along the bridge. The sharp stones cut painfully through her clothes. But then, finally, with a frightening gasp, she was out of the danger zone, where she was breathing heavily with her face down in the dirt.

The shock still sit deep. Still paralyzed with fright, she murmured a quick "Thank you…" to her savior. "By the Gods, what were you thinking, kid?" a voice snapped through the cool night air. She heard that it seemed to be a young woman. Cassie winced. "What did it look like to you? Bungee Jumping Freestyle?" She muttered. The young woman laughed sharply. "Oh let me get it, enough lost to process yourself into mincemeat but you obviously do not lose humor." There was something familiar in this voice. She knew it from somewhere but she had not good memories of it. Slowly Cassie leaned on her arms and looked up hesitantly. Her heart skipped a beat in disbelief.

Black boots, a slim purple outfit, the mask, the yellow sparkling eyes. The heir of Shao Khan, the infamous half-cartatan and the dangerousness in person. Mileena. She looked down at the young soldier who was lying before her on the ground. "No ... please no ..." Cassie crawled backwards. "I'm freaking out right now. First Raiden. And now you. You got wrecked before my eyes! Gnawed by maggots! Why are you standing in front of me?" _Piss me off, why do I hallucinate again_ ... she thought mute. Mileena cradled her hips and remained unimpressed. "I was created in the flesh pits, and surprise, not just once. I cannot be destroyed by a drooling insect! The question is, why are you facing me now? Sooo alone and …. sooo far away from home?" Cassie wasn't fooled. Something was wrong.

"Why did you do that?" She asked furiously. Mileena twitched with an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" _She's bluffing_. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, Miss Horror. Why did you stop me from doing it?" She laughed hoarsely. "At least not to eat your face. I obviously came too late, I presumed." The soldier stared at her. "You didn't answer my question with it. Why did you do it?" She secretly prepared herself for an attack by this cannibal. Mileena was not to be trusted. But she didn't get behind her buisness. She seemed to want to conceal something. "You would never have done it. Why should you do? It would have been a waste." She growled, but did not look at her in the eyes.

Anger grew up in Cassie, for she hated being raped as a coward. "What do you know, you vulture?" She took a step forward and hissed at her, lost all inhibitions. "Look at me! I lost everything! Why should this be a waste?" She noticed how her tears came up but she didn't want to show them, especially not before Mileena. Perhaps she had gone too far. Cause Cassie noticed when she was suddenly pressed with both wrists to the wall of a rock. Mileena glared at her with the eyes of a dragon. "So is that." she whispered with a threatening undertone. "Dost yourself as a waste of humanity. Because of your missing face, do you think of the distortion of the century? Then let me tell you something about my life now!"

She snatched the mask from her face with a lightning-fast movement, and in the moonlight her teeth, her gigantic fangs, covering almost all her jaw, glittered with the stinking, bloody gums of the saliva and the deep growling from her throat. Mileena noticed Cassie unconsciously grimacing. "I have not been born into this world, soldier. I was created. From the blood of a beautiful Edenian woman and that of a cannibal Tarkatan. With the most repulsive face in all the realms." She grunted with her long, filthy fangs. "But you will notice something. I am still alive, because have not given up! I wasn't always easy, but I accepted my fate. Even if that doesn't correspond to your ideal, Earthrealmer, but I live my life. And didn't think about such a terrible death than by suicide." Her face almost touched her at the nasal tip. "So I ask you, dear: what shall you die for, Cassie Cage?" She let go of her wrists. "I ... ehm ..." She had completely deprecated her language. Cassie had expected a lot from a killer. But never a simple kind of self-confident speech. Instead of answering, Mileena gently pressed a finger to the soldiers' lips. "Shh, you're not talking anymore!" Her fingernail scraped at Cassie's throat to her chin. "You're just gonna promise me that you'll never try to kill you again, Cage!" She nodded.

Cassie was exhausted. The suicide attempt had really taken her down. Nor did she get behind Mileena's intention. Why did she want to save her life? The light touch of a smile played around the monster's lips. "Now, come on, little brat and get up." Trembling, Cassie came back to her feet, her head full of questions and irritation. It was all wrong, because it still didn't fit into her motive. As she now put her arm around her shoulder and led her back to the street. She was like a big sister. No matter what this sudden personality change meant, she couldn't get around but began to enjoy this closeness at this difficult moment. Cassie was more aware of what she almost did with every step away from the cliff. "Let's get you home, kid." the half-tarkatan smiled with confidence. "Mileena?" She met the yellow eyes like it was for the first time. "Yes?" She took a breath. "Thank you for saving my life ..."

 **The wait is over, for all readers who have asked themselves why Mileena was indicated when displaying my characters.  
I'd really have had several people to choose from, such as Kabal or Freddie. Disfigured people, who could interact with Cassie. But my heart always belongs to Mileena and so I decided to give her a greater role and importance for the course of the story. What exactly made her to save Cassie Cage before she commits suicide? It just doesn't belong to her really deadly nature. **

**Find it out in the continuation of "The Lostface"! Ok, as a matter of fact, it takes a little bit more time for the next update. See you next time, fellows!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello folks, I'm back after a little break. Today comes the next update in October. Many were very irritated at my last chapter, why suddenly Mileena interrupts the action. Somebody might have thought that I could easily take a better distorted figure (Kabal, Freddy, perhaps even Jason blablabla), but I decided to choose her for my story. You will also learn in the next chapters why I did this and how the story will develop. Now I wish you a lot of fun with chapter 17. Your MasterFran!**

It was like in a drama film, except that the season is now running backwards. Cassie felt this way as she was moving farther and farther away from the pit where she was just about to end her life. And that the real antagonist is suddenly on the side of the good. She had to make sure several times on the way back that the monster named Mileena was actually walking right next to her. Not only that, she had saved her life. Or keep her from destroying her live. Mileena was the very last person on this earth she would trust to do so. And still she was in the habit, before this crazy woman would go savage, as it belongs to her nature. But nothing happened.

Her proximity was soon frightening and yet soothing. She suddenly felt that she was no longer alone with all her worries and fears.  
Meanwhile she had reached the bridge again that linked Shang Tsungs Island to the mainland. It stretched for a mile and she had only crossed it just over 3 hours ago. The stars glittered on the clear waters of the sea.  
But she was tortured by one last question: Why Mileena had prevented her suicide? She stopped at once, staring indecisively at the end of the route. She wouldn't leave this island without venturing Mileena's secret. Cassie took a deep breath and prepared herself not to be ripped into a thousand pieces, when she could no longer eat her face. But as she turned around, she stood there with her mouth open, for only the gloomy silence of the night lay around her. But Mileena had disappeared. "Ehm, Mileena?" _Was it all an imagination? No, it was too real for that!_

Irritated, she looked around in all directions, but nowhere else a sign of another man. And now, what now?  
Now Cassie was faced with a decision that would change her life. For a part of her wanted to go home immediately, and forgot all this incident. But something stopped her. Something that started at that moment when she saw Mileena at the Pit in the eye, a sudden feeling that she hadn't seen since her release from the clinic and now flared up like a little spark of fire in her heart. _Hope_

And with this realization, she knew that she would _not_ leave the island, before she could find the only creature that was possibly her only chance for a new beginning and a new life.  
Of course, it sounded as absurd as black and white, but after their only encounter shortly before Mileena's "first" death was something different. Something was different about this monster. And Cassie would find out.

She found a niche under the bridge, a small place that remained dry and captured the warmth of the day. Cassie cuddled between the rough stones, the edges rubbing unpleasantly on her bony spine; she had not gained much weight since her rehabilitation. She wore nothing on her body except for her uniform, torn from her attack on her best friend Takeda, streaked with blood splatters, and a cashmere scarf from her bedroom. _Would they ever forgive her again?_ The accusation of being a single burden for this world was hard on her. But for the first time, she felt that she was no longer alone.

The dry flesh tickled on her face. Even though it was not particularly cold, the exposed muscles were still very sensitive to the environmental influences that they were exposed to without a mask, both nature and society. Closely, Cassie wrapped her scarf around her head so she could only look out of a small slit. He gave her warmth and security and so she slept slowly with a last thought. With the dawn of the morning she would find Mileena again.

She woke up sweatily and with bloody palms. Breathless and shocked, Cassie rolled down the embankment and dived with her head into the cold sea water. The salt burned into the scar tissue and into her eyes. Frightened, she jumped back and rubbed her face dry on her scarf. That burn only vanished slowly and she sank back into her nightmare. The soldier bit her teeth and tried to concentrate on her new mission. This time it didn't need either her dad or a general to give her orders, because she once knew what to do. Her gaze wandered forward again. The sea sparkled like a fireworks in the morning sun, the mountain chain on the island and the beach glittered like pure gold. Somewhere there has to be Mileena, hopefully.

Two hours later, Cassie fought her way out of the wretched thicket that grew around the mountain chain. Teethfully, she pulled the brambles from her skin, which had drilled through her uniform in her thigh. Just a few hundred meters behind this dense jungle began the training courses, the only point of reference for her, where a second person could be staying. But she wasn't Tarzan and the thorn bushes insurmountable for her. Cassie stared high through the tree tops. The sun was already high on the horizon, and it was a waste of time, for she wanted to find a trace before sunset came.

Cassie withdrew reluctantly from the forest. The crunch of the sand under her feet told her that the beach of the island was only a few meters away. She would probably have to deal with the jungle in this way. It annoyed her enormously.  
A skunk stared at her with interested yellow eyes from the branch of a tree. "What are you looking at?" Cassie snapped. In fact, the little mammal reacted to it, but instead of crawling away, it climbed down from its tree and looked curiously on the hind legs. An unusual behavior for a skunk.

Cassie kept a distance, for such trusting animals had mostly infectious diseases. Besides, she didn't want to be… ugh, nasty. The animal didn't move, it twitched with its small nose and wiggled with the ears. "Now come on, move along!" The soldier picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the skunk. She missed a few inches, but it squealed loudly and turned back into the protective undergrowth. Cassie shook her head and turned around, back to the beach. When she just wanted to take a look at her phone, she suddenly was hit by something hard on the back of her head. Frightened, she jumped a step forward, rubbing her head. In front of her boots, in the sand lay the same stone she just had thrown. Cassie raised the stone again. _What the hell, who or what had suddenly thrown it back?_ It rustled before her in the bushes.

Carefully, Cassie picked up a branch from the ground and crept on tiptoes to the unknown source of noise. But when she shared the leaves in the bush with her stick, there was nothing to be found there. The next few seconds ran off so rapidly that Cassie couldn't believe it even years later, how she couldn't recognized this ambush. The only pre-announcement was the soft cracking of a branch above her in the tree, but before she even moved only head in the direction she was hit with full force in the middle of the shoulder blades. The blow ripped her from her feet and before her arms could catch her, Cassie slammed her face in the sand, where she stayed dazed for a few seconds.

A sudden kick in the ribs whisked her through the air and on her back. Cassie gasped horrified. From the corner of her eye she heard the blade of some kind of dagger that aimed at her head. Instinct, she rolled to the side, at the same time ripping the feet of her assailant, who fell to the ground with a dull sound. Quickly Cassie picked up, clenched her fists and went into defensive position. She almost choked her spit as she recognized her attacker on the ground. She had peeled off the mask and spat into the sand and even when she was gone down, she still was a big threat. "You!" She was as foolish as a wet toast, and she hated herself even more for her stupidity than she hates the monster.

Did she really believe, you could trust a scum like her? Was she so careless to think THIS could help her? The encounter on the bridge, her salvation, and her sudden, loving nature. All just staged to take now cruel revenge on her, revenge for her execution and for her lost throne. And yet there was a spark in her, who believed that she has a good core too. _Oh no, no!_ Cassie shook herself to reject this pointless thought. Mileena grinned scornfully and streaked some black and white hair from her shoulders.

"I should never have trusted you!" she growled, throwing herself at the half-takartan. But she had underestimated her. Before she could take off her disgusting teeth with her steel caps, Mileena had caught her leg in the blink of an eye, flinging her like a toothpick. With both knees, Mileena pressed her shoulders deep into the sand and her jaws snapped at her throat. Cassie managed to pull an arm out of her hold and took him in front of her neck. The razor-sharp teeth dug into her forearm and she had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming. But she also succeeded in freeing the second arm from under her knees, and with this she struck Mileena's liver with full aggression force.

The bite on her arm loosened as Mileena moaning fell sideways. Cassie took advantage of her short weakness and came out of her predicament. Both women stood back in an attack position after a short time, their eyes sparkling with hatred. "The little Cage! Back again?" She mocked. "Go home, come on, move along! Or do you want to jump again, little coward?" Cassie's breath went quickly and flatly but Mileena mocked her even further and started playing with her Sai. "Is the little child afraid again when evil man comes with the mask?" She grinned and presented her thorny teeth, to which still the blood from her arm stuck. "Afraid of me?" She began to laugh gleefully and scorched her armed hands.

This little stupid moment of carelessness. And Cassie took advantage of it. Before Mileena could defend her, she threw herself at her with a Shadow Kick. Surprised, Mileena looked at her suddenly empty hand, for she had succeeded in disarming her with that kick. But now she grabbed her second Sai and aimed it at her heart. She ducked under the blade, went on both knees and rammed her fists with full force right in the crotch. "Ding!" The blow showed effect as Mileena pushed out a short squeal and Cassie took the chance and totally disarmed her by grabbing Mileena's torso and throwing her on the back.

She lost her second Sai, which Cassie again caught and used against her. Mileena lay coughing on her back in the sand while Cassie pressed her right foot on her larynx and threatened her with her own weapon. There was no supplication in her voice when she asked. "So, what do you feel, now, when you have the free will to kill me?" In Cassie's voice there was no trembling when she replied. "I'm not afraid of you! Never again!" And she spat a mixture of blood and saliva beside her head. Mileena replied her gaze for a while, and an appreciative smile spread across her face. "Yes, I think so, too. Well done, Cassie!" It was as if she were falling out of the clouds. "Bitch, what?" She stuttered.

Mileena pressed her foot unhindered from her neck and stood up. Cassie still pointed the Sai at her and raised an eyebrow. "What kind of game are you playing with me?" The fight had left wounds, Cassie's chest was aching painfully, she'd ripped something and blood dripped from the bite of her forearm. But Mileena had not gotten out of it, too, a large hematoma spread on her right flank, and her mouth was bloody torn. But none of them was seriously injured. "You fought better than I expected." She gasped. "For that you're mentally vulnerable." Cassie slowly lowered the blade. "You mean, this was all ..." She nodded. "A training exercise. And a damn good one too!"

Instead of answer, Cassie threw the Sai to her feet, turned around and buried her head in the sand. "What the hell are you doing?" She could not quite understand Mileena, she had too much sand in her ears. "Fuck me, I have enough! I've. Got. Enough, all of you! Then she didn't get an answer, just a kick in the ass, which made her take a roll forward. Confused and dizzy, she lay on her back and stared into Mileena's amused yellow eyes. "Now listen, pull yourself together kid, and get up! Such manners are not known to you, Brat! Or maybe."

She grabbed the young Cage under her arms and pulled her back onto her feet. Cassie was still confused and unconsciously chewed on a few grains of sand. The Tarkatan, on the other hand, was strutting on the beach, turning around halfway, waving her head. "What are you waiting for? Now come on before I eat you yet! I thought you were looking for me?"

 **Confusing, isn't it? Before you're confronted me with what is going on in the strange development of the characters: just wait and drink some tea! You'll know, and I'll keep you up to date.** **Because there are still many secrets revealed over time,** **of which you would have no idea** **!** **I am happy about some reviews and that soon you drop by again!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello folks, I save my dumb intro, main thing is ... the show must go on! I have already paused for too long, because the last few weeks were very stressful for me.** **But at last comes an update.** **We will discover many things in this chapter, reveal them and ask ourselves various questions. I wish you a lot of fun, your MasterFran!**

Why had she decided to follow her? Well, Cassie couldn't help it. Whoever had to face such a change in personality, you had to come to the point. As she hobbled behind Mileena like a lame horse, she still rubbed her arm with a pained face. The dark red blood still trickled through the bite-holes of her sleeve. From the metallic odor, she became queasy, but she didn't dare to show it. At least Mileena didn't look at her anyway, but led her along the sand. Gradually, the beach became narrower, until eventually a path leading out into the forest, past huge rocks. Cassie gasped as she tried to keep up. "Please, are you waiting for me?" She whined. In reply came a short: "Just keep up the pace!" Unhindered she climbed a rock to get to the other side of the road.

"But I have questions! I ... oh, shit ..." Cassie just estimated her jump, slipped off the smooth rock, and landed a little unsuccessfully on her butt. Mileena was already out of sight. "Such a bitch ..." she muttered annoyed. "Cannot keep your mouth closed, can you?" Frightened, she whirled around, where Mileena held her arms crossed. She put her hand on her breastbone. "Shit man, stop scarring the shit outta me!" The woman just shrank to the slope with her catlike eyes. "Just stop darling and move along. I want to be there before the sun goes down."

Not until now Cassie notice the trail, which was right around the unsurmountable rocks. _How embarrassing._ When she turned to Mileena again, she had already disappeared from her field of vision. Only a fine purple mist surrounded the field, where her outline was. How did she do that? "Come back at once!" she yelled. But she finally had no choice but to move alone. So Cassie ran as fast as she could in her condition, around the rock and getting deeper through the forest, but further uphill.

The path didn't come to an end, and her lungs burned with exertion as suddenly a bright light appeared before her as she reached a kind of clearing. She shielded her eyes with her hands, not to be dazzled. When Cassie opened her eyes, she could not believe what she was seeing. She had reached the end of the forest and was on the edge of a stone cliff. From there, the most epic sight had long been seen when she could watch Shang Tsung's island from heaven above. High mountains rose from the woods in the depth, beautiful spots of almost untouched nature, waterfalls that thundered into the gorges. The individual boulders were connected by hanging bridges, and at their end she saw smaller villages, temples and fortresses. They must have survived for hundreds of years.

The sky was bright blue and white paradise birds pulled their orbits across the horizon. A pleasant warm breeze blew through her hair. It must sound stupid, but she had never felt so alive, one with herself at that moment. "Wonderful, isn't it?" Muttered a familiar voice beside her. This time, Cassie did not shrink, but she was fascinated by Mileena. She had turned her head back and closed her eyes, while her black strands were rocking in the wind. Could she really blame such a human as being a cold-blooded monster?

"How come we are so alone here? There must be more people coming to this place." To her surprise, Mileena shook her head. "Nobody lives on this island. Nobody but me." She waved at her and led Cassie across one of bridges. Cassie was trembling as she put her foot on the first wooden board. It went down about 40 meters into the depths. It was not 24 hours ago, when she also wanted to take a life on a bridge and failed miserably. But it was as if the Outworlder could read her mind. "Just try to enjoy the view! Don't look down if you don't want it." Determined, she put one foot in front of the other and the panic slowly flew away.

"Don't forget, Kiddo. This island belongs to Outworld territory. But you cannot reach it with any portal unless you are a god or a sorcerer. Therefore no one from Earthrealm will enter this island. And even the citizens of Outworld almost never come here. Still talking about the evil stuff and Mortal Kombat."

"But." Cassie scratched behind her ear. "It would be a compliment, but I don't look like a god or a sorcerer. Okay, I kicked Shinnoks old bony ass, but the green energy, that I've never ever had conjured again after the fight just doesn't make me a god." Suddenly, she had Mileena's pointed index finger on her chest. "Just, by the gods! The green energy isn't just for fighting! And can use it more than you ever imagine. You may not know it, but it's a very special gift. The green Aura, it's what enabled you to enter now Outworld without a portal." Cassie was stunned. "Does that mean I'm still using my aura unconsciously and travel back and forth between quanta? How is this possible? Gosh, please, tell me more about it!" Now she had her full attention.

She wanted to know far more importantly, but this was her first step to gain her trust. And yet it was exciting. As they moved on to the fortress, Mileena began to explain. "Since the beginning of mankind, three auras are known: blue, green and purple. Only an Edenian descendant was potentially able to exert these abilities. Their effect spectrum can be different. Invincibility, quantum journeys, teleportation are the best known abilities of such an energy. Today, the only known people who are able to conjure this aura are me with the purple aura, then you and your father with the green aura. Yes, you understood correctly. In your veins, not only flows the blood of the Mediterranean war cult. Your ancestors are from Edenia too. And ... "Cassie noticed a shadow flickering over her face. "Kitana. Representing the blue aura. There they are. The energies of courage, justice and love."

It nearly struck her, this concentrated information about the power of her green aura. At Mileena's eyes she recognized that she was not lying. It all made sense. How else could she, or her father, have wandered between the various realms? There was more skill in her than she had ever dreamed of. It hurt to think about her dad. She would like to tell him about her newly acquired knowledge. Or just put her back in his arms. But she couldn't think of home now. She would probably be declared dead at home, for her farewell was so obvious. Cassie had never thought her heart was still beating inside her chest, begging for life. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice that Mileena had remained and staggered into her side. "Ops, sorry." Mileena didn't move but directed her gaze further forward before she said. "We are there."

The farther Cassie leaned back to look at the fortresses, the more glorious she seemed. "And here you were, all the time?" She sighed. "I was born here. Created. Educated. Outworld was my home then. And I was reborn here after my death." She ran her fingers over a bronze statue. "Now I call this island my home."

Finally it was out. Cassie hadn't dreamed or hallucinate. Mileena had actually died before her eyes and now reborn in mysterious ways. Her appearance remained the same, pretty at first sight but murderously dangerous and repulsive. Whoever was born new was the interior. But why?

 _Mileena felt her questioning look and knew she could no longer conceal the whole truth. When she looked Cassie into her profound, gray-eyed eyes, she knew: Resistance is futile. She realized that she was the only person to whom she could confide her story. She'd never have opened people so personally, if HE had not been ... "Come on, Cassie."_

Their footsteps echoed dully from the stony walls, and Cassie's eyes couldn't get used to the darkness as Mileena led her ever lower down into the mountain, a long steep staircase. The first thing she noticed was the nauseous smell of dried blood with the mixture of decaying meat. She quickly held a hand in front of her mouth not to vomit and tried to keep up with the former empress. Step by step a light appeared, and at the long-awaited end of the stairs the soldier offered a disturbing sight.

The stone "room", when the young women were now, was a mixture of failed research laboratory and butchery that hadn't fulfilled their hygiene requirements for years. Various parts of the body, arms, legs, and sometimes a liver dangling at the hooks from the ceiling. Parts of carcasses were impaled on the wall, the meat was so decomposed that it separated from the rotted bones. Something wet dripped coldly in her neck. Frightened, she leapt aside, looking to the ceiling, into the empty eyes of a corrupt sliced open man, or to what was left of him after such a long period of time. Quickly, she circled a blood-rilled table, where the remains of burnt candles lay. On the impression she realized that there once a person must have been lying.

In the meantime, Mileena was standing in front of a structure, which looked like an oversized test tube. Altogether, she counted six of these vats. Some were empty, others were incompletely developed living beings in a blue-green liquid, which didn't even resemble a human being. She turned her gaze, horrified, from these dreadful glances. When she looked down at the floor, she noticed that she was standing in a puddle, all around glass shards. The last glass was broken. While the rest of the liquid was still spilling from the overests, she found the dirty white bandages on the ground, soaked with water from the nutrient medium. Mileena held the end in her hands.

"Shang Tsung's flesh pits, alright…" she murmured, distracted. She was tormented by this odor and wanted to get out of the hall as soon as possible. "And why did you lead me here?"  
This time Mileena didn't look at her and didn't answer at first, so Cassie went on. "It's enough. I don't know if I should thank you or rip your bloody head off, for you have saved me from suicide. But you did it. You saved my life, which _you_ would never have done. Why I do ask you for the last time? Why did you do that? Please, I have to know!"

Mileena's hands sank slowly down to her hips. "I am now again in a place where I have never been and whose appearance makes no sense to me. With someone like you who was no longer alive until now. I know what I'm talking about and I don't understand if it has something to do with some kind of destiny. Just as someone said to me, but you will not gain a great profit for yourself ... "  
"... but also for someone special. I know Cage." Mileena ended her sentence out of nowhere.  
The two stared at each other, Cassie full of disbelief, and Mileena sunk in remembrance. "But." Cassie hesitantly found her language again. "How can you…"

"Know about Raiden's encounter?" Murmured Mileena. "I don't have to know your meetings to tell you that I know exactly how you feel. Because I also have a fate that changed my life from that moment on."

And so she began to tell ...

 **Before you all wildly comment: Let it have some effect on you and wait for chapter 19 and possibly 20 (and 21 blablabla). The mystery is not fully elucidated yet. But I'm looking forward to some nice reviews and I am motivated to welcome you to the next chapter soon! MasterFran**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello Folks, the update comes much faster than I expected. I admit, I have surpassed myself. But this chapter was very important to me. I hope it is not written to philosophically. I don't know where I got my inspiration from. Maybe actually a bit from the first Pokémon movie.** **But now I'll keep you no longer rely on but hope you enjoy with Chapter 19. This time narrated by Mileena.** **This is her story about her new beginning and her untold fate, why she later decides to save the life of our young hero. A very touching story...**

It never took many people to execute a convict. The judges, the prisoner and an executioner. A small audience always belonged to it. For the fact that the Empress of Outworld was facing her death, the ceremony was still unreal.  
Was she really afraid of death? It couldn't be replied, but when Mileena sat on knees before the throne of the Osh Tekk, she just won't dare to show her fear. He kept looking at her with great contempt and his blue eyes the triumph glittered. Cause Kotal Kahn knows for sure; with her blood that spilled right in front of his feet, not only would her life be ended, but all that she had lived for. The rebellion.

Defiantly, she bared her teeth. „Enough of your prattle! Finish me! That I my join my father!" To her astonishment, the Emperor shook his head slightly before he said: „You do not deserve death by an emperors hand. " There was a short but eerie pause. „Instead I give the honor to my worthy first minister!"

All eyes in this room followed his outstretched hand and his fingers pointed to D'Vorah. This filthy slut, from which she was first conquered. Desperately, she shrank with her hands, but her attempt to free herself from the fetters remained unsuccessful. So she had to look powerless as she rose from her seat and went to her with a deadly elegance. From there, the Kytinn looked down at her as a she was a piece of dirt. At her nasty grin she recognized: D'Vorah wouldn't only kill her, but give her a slow death.

The cold, horny fingers of the insect woman roughly grabbed her head. Mileena tried to force herself out of her grip but no chance. Her yellow eyes found the black facet eyes of the Kytinn and her flawless grin, full of victory certainty. And she held this view. They may have defeated her body, but never have broken her will. "You will… never win D'Vorah…" she growled. D'Vorah leaned down to her until her lips almost touched. "Oh, I've already won, vile creature!" She smiled.

And then she pressed her lips tightly to her mouth. Presently she felt the many small worms that D'Vorah choked from her gullet into her throat. Desperately she tried to vomit, but the mass of insects grew steadily. They filled her mouth, crawling into her esophagus and up to her head. Her own cry of pain was stifled in her body, as under the mighty burden of the maggots her stomach burst like a balloon, and the animals, together with her gastric juice, emptied into her abdominal cavity. The pain killed her worse than a death could. With her last strength her body vomited the vermin, but instead the worms swelled from her nostrils and from the tear duct into her eyes. And still the death didn't occur.

Her eyesight cracked like a broken glass disk as the sharp little jaws drifted through the cornea into her eyeballs. Like mud, the skin broke loose from her skull bone, the world turned black and the mass in her belly finally burst her abdomen, in a barrage her guts emptied into her lap, or what was left of them. When D'Vorah finally hurled her brutal to the ground, the cruelest sound that a creature could give was filling this room. A scream of death, despair, and endless pain. And she fell, deeper and deeper down into a black abyss as Mileena breathed her life. A last thought spurred her before she fell into the eternal darkness. _Father, I'm coming home..._

The world in which she was, was neither in heaven nor on earth, or in the Netherrealm. She began to exist in an unattainable quantum state. Mileena had neither a body nor clear thoughts. Her emptiness was filled by recurring sequences, her life in a flashback. She lived through everything, her creation, the death of her father, her appointment as an Empress, and the growing grievances of Outworld up to the rebellion followed by her ambush. And again and again red and black lightning flashes, the last impressions of her life that ended with death. Had she ever lived? She wasn't born into this world, she was created.

Only bred from the blood of an assasine, mixed with the one of a tarkatan. Her only task was loyalty to their ruler, Shao Khan. She never questioned her services, but now, that she was dead, she asked for the first time the question she never asked herself during her lifetime: Who am I?  
A voice sounded, not in her head. He suddenly filled this void with light. "I feel your confused heart, Mileena!" She whirled around and there he was standing in front of her ghost. Dressed in his flowing cloak with the flashing blue eyes that nothing escaped.  
"Thunder God!" She hissed. "What do you want here?"

He took a step closer to her through the contoured space. "I came to talk to you." he simply said.  
"Talk, always your first choice. I will stay with my opinion! I will never negotiate with the murderer of my father!" she shouted, trying to hit him, but nothing happened. Mileena had neither hands nor feet, she was simply there.  
Raiden didn't move and neither twist his face. She returned his gaze. "Just tell me! What am I? I am dead but that is not the Netherrealm. My father isn't here, nobody is! We do not exist!" The god didn't even squint his eyes. "You are not dead, Mileena, but neither alive. But you're still there. Your window to existence is your soul. But what are you?"

"I... I do not know. They call me Mileena, the heir of Shao Khan. Khanum of Outworld. I was not born to him as a daughter, I was just perfected for him ..."Raiden stretched out his hand. Mileena hesitated. "What do you want from me?" He smiled. "Trust me?" But she still remained stubborn. "Why should I do that? You took and killed the only thing from me I was worth living. My only existence ..." She stopped in the middle of her sentence. Was this for real? Was she only there to subdue the will of her father? Raiden finished her thoughts. "So you know what you are. A creation designed only to place a loyal heir to the ruler of Outworld. But haven't you ever asked yourself WHO you are?"

She lowered her gaze. A stupid question. Who am I? She had nothing that a human being accounted for. "I'm nobody. Shao Khan was the only member of my existence. My existence was only influenced by him. For I had never possessed anything that aroused my anger. A family. Father was the only family I knew." She looked up. "Look at me, god of thunder. I am not even human, but an ugly hybrid. A nothing ..." Raiden shook his head. "Take my hand. I want to show you something." At last the ice broke in her mind, and Mileena stretched out her imaginary hand for that of the Thunder God.

The world around them began to turn dizzying. Contours began to form, and before she knew she was suddenly no longer in nothingness. Raiden and Mileena were back in a realm. Mysterious and secretive. "The Jinsei-Chamber." It was more a statement than a question. The Thunder God nodded approvingly. "So you know why I brought you here." She shook her head. He took her hand again and led her to a large water basin. Sparkling ice blue liquid bubbled in this rock. "Well, take a good look!" Mileena gazed at the water surface. She saw a young woman with shoulder-length black hair and a really well-proportioned beautiful skin. However, what destroyed this painting was a profoundly disfigured face. The huge distinctive jaw, the yellowish faded teeth. It was as if Mileena was going to see herself for the first time. The sight made her sad.

"What am I supposed to see Raiden? It's just my reflection." Suddenly she felt a warm hand on her fictional shoulders. "It is _your_ reflection, Mileena. That's you!" She heard this whisper in her head. "Yes, I can see this, genius. What does that mean, that's me?" she muttered. From the corner of her eye, however, she noticed something. The Jinsei, who normally shone in his magnificent blue mist, had changed. Hesitantly, Mileena approached him. For his waves were no longer blue. He was now rotating in three colors. Blue, green and purple. The voice in her head continued. "The Jinsei is a place of inner peace. He will revive your soul and cleanse you. But take a closer look at him!" The woman hesitantly entered the floating stone steps.

She stopped before the fog. The enormous energy of the chamber almost overwhelmed her senses. And still the three colors were rotating in a powerful eruption before her. "What do you see?" She looked straightened into the vapor of the haze and in fact. Before her, a figure appeared, almost indistinguishable from her own. But she realized that this figure was the original, but she was only a copy, perhaps an improved copy, but not worthy. "Kitana ..." she whispered softly, reaching for the young woman. The blue eyes of the Princess met the yellow eyes of her clone. But she couldn't touch her.

"I thought she was my sister. A small part of my family. But she said I'm not her sister. I am a monstrous scum. But not part of her family." She retreated into her shadow. "I was created out of her blood to serve Shao Khan and to get rid of her, kill her and our enemies. Only he was everything that constituted my life. And after his death, it was my purpose to succeed him. Without the throne I have sense to live." _I never knew my own sister and she never knew me. For her I was scum and she was my enemy. But you would never know how much I actually care for you, Princess Kitana...  
_ What followed was the moment, now reversed her previous existence.

"The circumstances under which we have emerged are completely irrelevant to our existence. It is what you do with the gift of life, which determent you who you are. Look inside yourself, Mileena. Perverted people may have created you to abuse your body for their plans. But there was something Shang Tsung violated. Within you take your first step in our world, there is a heart, and in your body lives a soul. Don't look into the past, but let this heart show you a way. There is always a sense in your existence, it is meaning of life."  
Her breath went quickly and flat, and for the first time she felt it clearly. The heart beat in her chest. It was _her_ heart. _Her_ life. Or wasn't it? She was still dead. Why did she suddenly feel so alive?

Mileena felt a strange force pulling her straight forward into the Jinsei. He flowed through her veins like fluid life. Blue, green, purple ... Raiden was now standing right in front of her and he smiled gently. "There's more power in you than you think, Mileena. You see it before you, the three powerful energies that feed this miracle. Courage, Justice and the Power of Love. You radiate an incredible aura. You're a great part of this life!"

The Jinsei began to lend her incredible powers. More and more, her heart began to beat in her breast, life pulsing in her, stronger than ever before. But as she looked back, Raiden had disappeared. The pressure in her veins increased steadily. "Thunder God?" She said, panicked. "Please, don't leave me now. I still have so many questions. Please." But the god had disappeared. The energies now took her completely, revealing a color game in front of her eyes that she believed to stifle. What she last heard was his voice in her head. _By the gods, what is just happening with me?_

„Your mission is not over yet." Raiden's voice was little more than an echo. "To fulfill your destiny will be a great challenge. But you will not only gain a great profit for yourself, but also for someone special. Never forget that. Never forget me, Empress!"

The voice fell silent. "No! Raiden! Come back, don't leave me alone." Mileena was choking in the fog and blindly began to punch the area around her. And suddenly the pressure was gone. Hardly her body hit the stone floor, where she lay panting and exhausted. The lungs were getting faster and faster. Air, air! Mileena opened her eyes in alarm. She breathed. She _lived_. Hesitantly, she rose from the ground. She noticed that she knelt in a blue puddle and turned around. In front of her stood the remains of a huge test tube. It was broken, the liquid leaked out and she was right in the middle, in a mixture of blue water and broken glass.

Trembling, Mileena got up to her feet. Every touch with the ground prickled in her cells. Instantly she noticed that she was naked except for a few cotton bandages on her body. Away from her body her eyes flew across the room and the recognition took almost her heartbeat again. She knew this place and she would never forget the place where she was born. She was back in Shang Tsung's Flesh Pits. It was here that her life began, and at this moment it would start all over again, but this time with a difference. She realized that her existence was no longer subject to some human will. She suddenly recognized the meaning of life. And her determination to help someone else finding that sense. But who?

 **Well my friends, this is it.** **The time when Mileena did her character change. She is one of my favorite game figures in the entire Mortal Kombat series. The beauty and the beast in a package. For me, she was always destined for far more than just the puppet for evil purposes. So much selfishness and self-confidence needs its own story. I hope you will stay with the story and look forward to the next time I update. Your MasterFran!**

 **PS:** **I would note for later chapters that the other revenants, including Lui Kang and Kitana, are already alive again!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hello my dear friends, it is again far too long.** **Finally, the 20th chapter of my MK story "The Lostface" comes out!** **Featuring the view of three people and Cassie not only learns a new side of a convicted monster but also learns to use a new skill and her new mentor. It will be the longest chapter yet. I wish you lots of fun, R & R of course and see you soon! (I update this aboard a train with total delay of 90 minutes x/, let's see if I make it home alive)  
**

As if in slow motion, a small drop of blood fell on the paper. Frantically, the general tried to cover the red spot, but it only caused more chaos. Frustrated, Sonya carried the paper to the bin near her desk and sucked on her thumb. With her tongue, she grasped the flap of her skin and the metallic taste of her own blood. She hated to cut herself on paper. She hated the taste of blood. She hated that she had been entrusted with this work. Angrily, she also threw the remaining application papers off the table, and turned in her chair so that she saw the wall in front of her.

Just two days passed, and already a new job for Johnny's team was advertised. They didn't even give her time to realize that she hadn't only lost a valuable member of SF, but her only daughter as well. On her closet a framed picture was within reach. Sonya carefully took it from his place and looked at it. Cassie never knew that her mother had kept it in her office. It was made three years ago, on the day of Cassie's ceremony: her appointment as a lieutenant with her diploma thesis passed. Johnny had persuaded her to take this funny picture: Cassie stuck her tongue out and put her arms around Sonya, who turn her cap upside down and made a silly grimace. A small drop of much from her eyes, directly on the beautiful face of her daughter. Sonya quickly dabbed the water and tried to hold back her tears.

She had almost lost Cassie before, but now she had to face the fact that she would never return. Her farewell letter was clearly worded. Johnny sent a search party the same evening, but trying to locate her cell phone came to an end on the lost sea. They found her motorcycle not far from the last ping of her phone, it was completely intact. However, from the body of her daughter was no trace. She had to bite her teeth to get the horrible ideas of how Cassie could have finished herself in the end.

Yet a tiny spark in her believed she could still be out there. Maybe she'd dropped this terrible idea at the last moment. But the probability was about zero. For two days there was no sign of life from her, so she was not allowed to assume that she was still alive. She only hoped that it had not taken long, she had not suffered long, that Cassie ...  
Exhausted Sonya collapsed on her desk with her head. The framed photograph slipped from her wet fingers to the carpet. The crying two days ago had completely dried up and flattened her. There was only one person left to help her.

Normally it was strictly forbidden to make phone calls during working hours, but she just didn't care. The SF had demanded so much of her in the last few days, it was time for a small payback. Carefully she scrolled through her phone directory and prayed that he went to his phone. It tutted several times and Sonya almost gave up hope, but finally.  
"Sonya, is that you?" A brief smile crossed her face. She did not know when the last time she was so happy to hear his voice. Years. "What do you think, who else it is? I am the supreme power of the house."

Johnny laughed a little, but it was not his usual mischievous laugh. It was dry, like her tears. "What's wrong, honey?" He merely said.  
Sonya sighed deeply and stroked through her messy ponytail. "Meh, I do not know, Cage." What was wrong? She might just need someone to talk to, someone to share her worries.  
"If you need someone to talk to, I don't know if I'm the right person for it."  
"If you are not the right person for it? Do you know how shitty I am?" She snapped with a high pitched voice. She noticed immediately that she had given the wrong answer. Damn, what was wrong with her? "I'm sorry, I ... I just can't take it anymore."

"Stress with Flagg and Blake?" He sounded calm and empathetic despite her aggressive tone. But Sonya started to escalate completely. "Oh, you just won't believe it! They really did it."  
"That's not serious, I'll refuse. I am the instructor of this team and I will not replace my own daughter!" He exclaimed. Annoyed, she crumpled another piece of paper between her fingers. "The hardest thing is that they asked me to search! And the demand for the job is huge. But they have no idea what they did to me ... I mean to us!" The paper ball fell to the others under the desk.

"Two days have already passed without a trace. And I don't want to deny it anymore. Cass is dead. I don't want to believe it myself but ... "She noticed her voice sinking and she had to swallow hard to keep from crying again. "It was all my fault! I should have reacted earlier, then she would still be alive. It's just all my fault she committed suicide."  
There was a brief silence at the other end of the line; the only sound in the room came from her throat. These sobs she couldn't hold back anymore. "Babe. Stop blaming yourself!" Johnny also lost his voice, but recovered himself. "We couldn't have prevented it. Ok, maybe. But Cassie is an adult woman. She made her own decision. Even if my world is getting out of joint forever with her last one. They change our lives."

"As with your decision to marry me again?" She whispered. A long silence arose between the two. Until Johnny answered. "I once didn't regret the decision to get a divorce. But my choice to remarry was the one important decision in my life. Life is full of change, and we cannot influence some, nor do we know how to guide them. But deep inside you feel what you think is right. We had both distanced ourselves too much to learn until the end that a family must stick together." He sighed heavily. "Maybe Cassie just had to distance herself from everything."

Sonya slowly rolled a strand between her fingers, her eyes focused on the distance. "I only hope that if she's still out there, she knows how important our decisions are to our actions. And no matter where she is, I'll always love her. And that she will finally understand, where her heart has led her…"

Once, Jacqui had hit her a bowling ball against her head on a night trip. The feeling would never be forgotten by Cassie, so she knew the current feeling felt the same way. Her head rattled like a broken clockwork, tried to process and evaluate the narrative. But everything was so unreal as she tried to understand Mileena's story. Maybe it was the smell of corpse that had bothered her. It was dark as she stumbled up the stairs like a trance, sucking in the fresh air, relieving the smell of death from her nose. Then she only managed to crawl on a tree stump and fell asleep in her exhaustion.

The nightmare brought her back to the present, and Cassie jumped out of her sleep startled and slid off the steps. She turned up in confusion. She definitely wasn't asleep here. She was lying on the landing of a small building, it had to be somewhere attached to the palace of Shang Tsung. Carefully she climbed up on all fours and reached a small open conservatory. Mileena sat in the middle on a carpet, and went forth over her breakfast. A big chunk of raw meat, which she greedily tore to shreds like a hyena. Typical Tarkatan-bred.

Her eyes flickered when she saw Cassie, then returned to her breakfast. She felt a strange hole in her stomach and the gaping emptiness. Cassie groped for her stomach, searching in vain for him under her ribcage. She had not eaten for more than a day, but at the sight of Mileena tearing the tendons and cartilage from her bone with her fangs, it must have been a bovine, and she felt sick again.  
Actually, she had a right to ask several questions. Only one squeezed through her parched mouth. "How do you manage to survive here for months?" A pair of yellow eyes looked at her uninvolved and from her fangs dangled a tendon thread. Cassie went on. "Where do you get your food from? I do not think you have a private supermarket here."

She kicked the bone out into the open and settled down contentedly back on the carpet. "Maybe not on the island. But you Earthrealmers have enough food to live on."  
When Cassie opened her mouth again, she interrupted quickly. "I also have the gift of using the secret bridge from the island to Earthrealm. That even several times."

She shook her head and rubbed her hair in confusion. "But how do you manage to get undetected into Earthrealm each time? I mean, everyone knows you. You are damned as a cannibal and assassin. And officially dead." She put her hands on her hip. "Do you think I'm stupid? I would never enter Earthrealm like _that_!" She winked and stared out into the jungle. "There are other ways to stay undetected." She stared over her shoulder. On the tree branches, a few birds screeched, otherwise she saw relatively little. What other ways does she mean? But when she opened her mouth and turned back, Mileena was gone. Again. _How did she do that?_

A faint hiss sounded down at her feet. It was sitting in front of her boots, staring at her with those little yellow-black button eyes. A skunk. Startled, she screamed.  
"Don't scream so loud! It's still me!" She grumbled. "You?"  
Disbelieving, she dropped to her knees and stared wide-eyed at the small mammal. "Oh Fuck! That was you on the beach! The skunk, what I've seen!" She brushed with a claw through her hair. The statue had changed, but her eyes, teeth, but above all character and self-assured demeanor remained unchanged. "And I thought you recognized it earlier, silly."  
Cassie shook her head. "But how is that possible?" "Animality!" "What the hell is that?" In front of her eyes, the black-and-white pile of pelts grew in size, paws became arms and legs, mouth and nose out of the snout and the next moment Mileena had transformed back. "Come with me and let me explain."

She never thought that there was such a thing as books on Shang Tsung Island. She never thought that there was such a thing as a library on this island. Cassie was speechless at the sight of massive literature bound in paper and leather on shelves that reached to the ceiling. She couldn't explain why so many books were lost in this place. But it explained where the half-breed got her knowledge from.

"Well, so much loneliness must be pretty boring." She smiled with a grin. In response, she earned such a face that she almost choked on her own spit. "You can be really corrosive." She stopped at one of the shelves, in a distance where Cassie had lost her way long ago. The thick leather book almost flew against her skull when Mileena tore it off the shelf. Cross-legged, they sat on the floor, while Cassie devoted herself to the book in awe.

She blew some dust off the cover and opened the lid. It had no title and no summary and was more of a historical note. Notes and sketches, of humans and animals. Directly on the first page was a drawing of a man, with a red face painting and a hatchet in his hand. His body mixed with that of a wolf. Her eyes became as big as those of the wolf, for she had never met this Indian and yet she recognized him as an old friend.

"I know him! This is Nightwolf!" Cassie shouted. She nodded, those yellow eyes with the omniscient look. "Nightwolf is a descend from an old clan of shamans who, through intensive mental and physical training, were able to turn themselves into animals. When Raiden heard about it, he used the chance to win the warrior for his fighters, but he also persuaded Nightwolf to dedicate the team to the secrets of the Animality until at the end of his mentoring everyone was able to bring forth his inner beast." Cassie stared at her open-mouthed. "That means, my parents had this ability to transform into animals, too?"

Frantically she flipped through the notes and actually found the entries JOHNNY CAGE and SONYA BLADE. Under their names were drawn the sketches of their animal abilities. Her father, a ... kangaroo? That was special but somehow funny and true. Her mother almost lifted her from her shoes. Because she stared into the powerful eyes of a hawk. "Wow," she whispered. Her parents never told her about it.  
Mileena continued as if she had not heard the comment. "Of course my dad noticed, even before the next tournament. He, too, wanted to bring that ability into his army. So he instructed this old wizard to spy on Raiden unnoticed. After gaining sufficient experience, he taught us. However, only our most powerful warriors were able to perform an Animality.  
However, when Raiden learned of Shang Tsung's espionage at the next tournament, he was furious and turned to the rest of the elder gods. After several consultations, the realms agreed to ban Animality from all the following tournaments. Since then it has been forgotten, and many have lost their former ability." She looked down at the floor absently, scratching at her nails. "But I kept my gift and could use it again."  
For Cassie, this chapter had come to an end. Search Mileena, find Mileena, reveal her secrets. She knew what had happened. And as they both looked at each other, Cassie knew that she had to be the one from Raiden's prophecy, no, it was her. She could now ask hundreds of questions. But she was surprised by herself when she put that one question out of her.

"Will you teach me?" She suddenly asked. Mileena winced and cocked her head. "What are you talking about, Kiddo?" She got up and took a deep breath. "I want to be able to master Animality. Will you teach me? "She snorted briefly, then a laugh broke out of her murderous jaws. "I'm sorry but that's impossible." She felt short-term disappointment but she still didn't give up. "Why shouldn't it work?" She shook her head. "You need self-control, strong nerves, balance and a mentor."  
"I definitely have the latter. We can work on the rest." "Please, what?" Cassie shifted from one foot to the other. "You can be my mentor!" Mileena stared at her as if she was about to become the Khanum of Outworld. "Are you kidding me? I cannot be your mentor."

"Why not?" Cassie felt a little stupid, like a toddler, who didn't understand why one shouldn't stretch out on the stove. But she didn't want to let go. That was never her way. "Because ... because." She stuttered and sighed. "Look at me. I'm not a teacher, not a tutor, not a mentor. Call it what you want, but I've never trained anyone, and I just cannot. End of the story." She grinned treacherously. "You just say haven't yet." Mileena stared at them with narrowed eyes. "What are you dating again?"

Cassie laughed. "Come on, give yourself a chance! If you've never trained anyone, then I'm your first student now." Defiantly, she put a hand to her face and groaned. That's it, Busted. "You'll never let it go, will you?" She got up and cracked her finger joints. "But don't expect any mercy from me." Her smile stretched so far into her skinless face that her muscles tightened to a maximum and she looked like a Halloween pumpkin. "Your cold never boarded me anyway!" In response, she slapped her, which made her chuckle a little.

"How many hours did you need for your Animality?" She was just like her father. She just couldn't shut up. With full force she tipped the girl a bucket of water in the face and there were several dull noises, as first the porcelain figures and finally Cassie herself tumbled from her one-legged position into the sand. She stalked over to her and stood in front of her with her arms crossed like a know-it-all teacher. "One hour, one day, one year or not at all! You will find out for yourself." She spat out some sand and lifted the porcelain off the floor. "Why are we doing this shit then?"

Mileena bared her teeth angrily. "You work on your self-control and balance. You don't seem to own both. "Her permanent smile vanished. "Now, that's just hurtful!" Mileena stayed firm. "You get over it. Pain passes. Get up and go!"  
They trained for hours. Until vomiting, really. Cassie stood choking on a tree after 7 hours of training while Mileena irritated held her hair back so as not to smother herself with puke. When she was done, she breathed a few times and raised both thumbs. Mileena tapped her forehead. "You still do not have enough, right?" Cassie was standing in front of her now, her knees shaking but with an unusual determination in her eyes. "What do you expect from a Cage?"

„You're right, never mind…" With a skilful flick, she sat back in the barriers of the training ground. Cassie followed, trying to stay as upright as possible. Her hair was sweaty from exhaustion. "Now, try again!" Every muscle in her body tensed as she imagined bringing forth her inner beast. Like a circus elephant trying to break out of its cage. Hopefully, she stared up at her mentor, but she only touched her head. "You look like a constipation on the toilet!" All the air escaped from her and dropped her arms in disappointment. "But how should it work then?" She mumbled.

The Tarkatan gently scratched her throat with her sharp fingernail. "Thou shalt not let the beast out! You are the animal! Don't hide it like an ant under a rock! Come out and show yourself!" She knew where this problem was. For she had forgotten how to show herself in the last few weeks. She lived in disguise, afraid of her disfigurement. The panic of falling back into her delusion. To end up as a monster.  
Cassie gritted her teeth with frustration. "I can't do it." Suddenly Mileena grabbed her by the throat and threw her to the ground. Startled and open-mouthed, she stared up at her. "You want to hide again in your shell? Go ahead! Do it then. And run like you never run before!" She growled and a saliva thread dripped into the sand.

When she remembered that day, she didn't remember why she ran away. Her legs were moving as if by magic, as the leaves and branches whipped in her face and eyes. It burned like fire, but she didn't stop. Mileena didn't follow her. She was alone, again. Alone with her problems. It was like the day the SF fired her. Even then she ran away, away from her life without meaning and reason. This action almost ended in her death. Should that happen again? Tears were in the eyes of the soldier and her lungs fought for more oxygen. She didn't want to run away. She just wanted to free herself, from everything.

A ditch appeared on the slope in front of her. The river thundered between its two ends, about 5 meters wide. It was too late to slow down. Cassie stumbled toward the cliff in full sprint. She closed her eyes and pushed away with all her strength.

The jump went endlessly, and the other end came closer and closer. She would not make the jump. She sank slowly deeper and with a mighty roar she threw both arms forward at the last moment and felt to her relief the dry rugged earth under her fingers. Wait a second. Although she was still running, she could no longer stand up. The world around her grew larger and faster she drummed across the forest floor. Her hands were gone. She looked up at raised golden brown paws. Her _paws_! _What the hell was going on here?_ Her sprint path passed a lake. A dust flag whirled up as Cassie shot down the bank at an incredible speed, risking a glimpse of the oncoming reflection. In the sunlight, she saw a majestic cat-like animal, gold and sand-colored, but with black at the tail and round ears. Not only an animal. It was her. Her heart pumped with excitement as she recognized her inner beast with her own eyes. Her Animality.

Mileena, the skunk, watched the action from the battlements of the fortress. A wide smile crossed her black-and-white face and her eyes glowed with pride. She had actually done it. She radiated so much grace. She had proved more than worthy and proved her entire strength of nerves. But no cat. She was a cougar. Encouraged, she climbed down the roof and started the pursuit. Finally, she breathlessly caught the wild cat on the training ground, where she stopped below Shang Tsung's archway and watched as Cassie repeatedly kicked up the sand with her claws.

"That's just incredible!" She exclaimed enthusiastically. She pranced on all four paws and wriggled her long tail. "Tremble before me when the mighty cat rages over this island!"  
Mileena puffed up her long coat to a mountain. "That's just what you think, young woman!" With an amused hiss, she threw herself on her ears and bit her in her thick neck fur. With a clamor, Cassie staggered backward, trying to get the skunk off her head. But Mileena also remained a tough opponent in her animal form and didn't let herself be shaken off. She had to use different tactics. She skillfully rolled over her neck, feeling the half-blood squeeze the air from her lungs and loosen her teeth in her fur. With a sweeping movement of her head, the bite released and Mileena sailed off in a high arc.

She banged her muzzle hard in the dirt, but instantly was on her little feet again, spitting some dirt out of her mouth. "Not bad, kid." She fumbled and showed her teeth. "But is that all you got?"  
The two animals teased playfully for a while, until Cassie managed to tame the little mammal, which, on the one hand, was not surprising given her superior size, but for the first time the cougar showed courage again in her bones. When the sun had set, they were still on the training ground.

Satisfied, she rolled herself in the sand and sighed. "I wish I could always stay that way. Hidden from civilization." Mileena stared at them with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean?" Cassie got up and shook the dirt out of her fur. "If I'm always a cougar, maybe I won't be stared at. It would be a nice alienation of my ugly appearance." She dropped her shoulders. "What good is it to me to walk in my old body?"  
Instead of answering, the skunk sat up and raised an eyebrow. "I want to show you something today. Maybe it will help you."

With her bushy tail, Mileena beckoned her over to a moor scrub. "Come here and look." On her four paws, Cassie crept to her side. Between the reeds she looked into a small pond. On the clear surface of the water, the full moon was reflected again. At the same time she saw for a long time for the first time in her face. The glorious face of a cougar, with strong round ears and fine white whiskers. Her eyes were the same, human, blue and unusually expressive. A majestic big cat, but without a coat on the muzzle. In fact, even in her animal form lacked the formative face. Almost to the point of the ears stretched the skinless portion. Disappointed, she lowered her head. Mileena had sat down beside her front leg and stared into her eyes. Cassie sighed. "It has not changed. I am disfigured as before."

"Cassie." Mileena sounded sensitive. "Change determines our life. But an external change does not change you! Because you have to look under the skin to see the true face of another. You can only judge someone by his outward appearance. But what matters is the face and your present, which shows up right here." With her tail, she brought her forepaw up to her chest. Under the fluffy fur she felt with her paw again and again. The strong beat of her heart. "So never forget: you cannot run away from yourself. You can learn to look at yourself and your surroundings with new eyes." "From whom do you have this quote?" She whispered.  
She shrugged her little shoulders. "I just invented that myself."  
"You should become a philosopher. Really!"

In the dark, both women returned. Cassie dragged her filthy sticky body into the shower because she stank really pathetic. She let the warm water run over her sore skin for a long time, and then carefully stretched her face into the stream. It was uncomfortable at first, but did not burn much like the salty seawater. Carefully, she washed the exposed structures on her skull, then she wrapped herself around a soft towel and barefooted through the dressing room. Astonished, she stopped in front of one of the lockers. The initials of the predecessor were still engraved: **Sonya Blade**. The small key was still stuck and the door could still be opened easily. Inside were various clothes, costumes and equipment. And they belonged to her mother when she involuntarily got into the tournament. Now, after nearly 30 years, her daughter found her things again _. If only she knew ..._ Carefully she rummaged in the subjects. The fabrics all smelled of her mother and left a feeling of security on her skin.  
As Mileena returned to the upper level, Cassie stood there in black shorts and navy blue top, scratching her arm shyly. "Are there any cots or a blanket to lie down here? I also like spending the night outside, that really does not bother me. "

She laughed loudly and pulled her on her upper arm. "Do not talk nonsense, kid, you're not my pet. My bed is big enough. You're welcome to have one half." Amused, she winked. "Nobody needs to sleep outside." And Cassie also showed one of her cute smiles.  
Exhausted, Cassie dropped onto her bed half and pressed her head deep into her pillow. The view was indescribably beautiful even at night, because from the bedroom you could look over the entire valley. The Milky Way sparkled in a broad band above the temple. She glanced at her side for a moment. Mileena was lying with her back to her, making soft snoring noises, she was already sleeping. She too was tired, but this day passed by her.  
Now that she was recalculating, she realized that only two days had passed since her disappearance and suicide attempt. It was unreal what had happened in those 48 hours. She was still alive and now she was finally aware of what nonsense she had almost thrown away this life. Sure, without Mileena she would not be here anymore. Without her as her mentor she would never have learned this important lesson. So her eyes slowly closed, still inspiring her new ability to perform an Animality.

The chainsaw was dripping with blood, and on its hammer were still the fragments of bones he had smashed. Dried intestines stuck to his formerly white apron. The tie was crooked and his eyes were burning with hatred. There was no way out. There was only the two, in her delusion, when Cassie had to face Leatherface again in one of her many nightmares. In each of these dreams, she experienced the fear and pain that once stole her old life, and disfigured her from there on. But in this dream was something different. It was this green glow that surrounded her body and felt the emptiness inside her. Something she hadn't felt like for a long time now.  
The desire for justice. She shook her head slightly as she held the look of Leatherface. "I will not run away from you, Leatherface! Because that's how I started running away from myself. Because I have learned that my life is worth more. But why did you reject yours like that?" The dark eyes under the mask didn't blink once, and neither fear nor love or anything else was reflected in them. They were empty, unruly and unstoppable. _What has happened, that you have become what you are now? What only?_

Mileena's eyes opened slowly as she saw a movement. She had to blink a few times to get used to the darkness. Her jaws stretched forever as she had to yawn. It was certainly no later than 2 a.m. Again something hit her in the back. As she cautiously turned aside, she almost laughed at the sight. Cassie had pulled a trail across the bed and curled up close to her shoulder like a puppy. She closed her eyes and snored softly. The muscle tone in her face was unusually relaxed, only her nostrils lifted and lowered slightly with each breath. It sounded stupid, but just the way she was sleeping, the little Cage was incredibly cute. And maybe this was the first night without her frightening nightmares. As Mileena turned on her back, Cassie jerked her jaw muscle briefly, then suddenly grabbed her arm in her sleep and pushed herself closer. Now she was even faster asleep, her head resting on the height between her chest and left collarbone, her hand half on her stomach. Mileena made no attempt to scare the soldier off of her.

Cage was actually a tough and fearless woman, but now that she was looking for closeness, Mileena felt something she had barely felt before. A protective instinct. Like a mother to her daughter or a sister to her sister. She always wished for a sister and saw until today her big role model in Kitana. _If only she knew ..._ Now she was something like Cassie's big sister. As she dawned, she stroked gently through her soft golden hair. _I'll be there for you no matter what..._

 **Wow, I actually did it. My fingers really hurt from writing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter (Animality is one of my most celebrated finishers!) And I hope to see you again soon in the next chapter! Bye and love you, MasterFran! d:-)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello my friends, finally it goes on.** **After my monster-chapter (by my standards) things are going on a bit more moderately, but the next exciting "plot twist" for Cassie is imminent. She put off her suicidal thoughts, mastered her Animality and found a new, unexpected deep friendship. But how will her story go on? Read and find out.**

"Stop that, that's embarrassing ..."  
"I'm serious, you were so fucking sweet as you slept." Miley joked.  
It was a rainy day, but hot and humid on the other side. Cassie and her mentor had gone up to the highest mountain on the island. The attack had also destroyed the sweat glands with the loss of her face, which made the sultriness even more unbearable for her. The more sweat dripped from her arms and mingled with the hot rain.  
Several times she wiped her nose with the sleeve of her mother's jacket and brushed off the rainwater. Her exposed muscles were not used to prolonged contact with fluids and were accordingly swollen and sensitive.

But not as sensitive as her mind, when Mileena made fun of her sleeping behavior.  
"You should have just thrown me out of bed." She muttered. "You didn't do anything wrong." laughed the half-breed.  
Cassie shook her head and grinned. If she had a face, she would be red with shame right now.  
"That's why Jacqui and I never shared a bed. She said I'm snoring too loud and just kicking around."  
"What! You haven't! Just look at me, I only sometimes drool while sleeping." Cassie grimaced. "Ugh, yuck!" She just stuck out her tongue.  
They reached their destination on the sunlit back of the mountain, where a small rock niche gave them shelter from the heat. Determined, Cassie clapped the rock to her right and settled on a ledge. For her it was still exhausting but an important training for her rusty joints.

The Tarkatan threw down her lunch bag, which she had to carry the whole hike, and wrung the water from her drenched black hair, then opened the bag and rummaged in it before she grabbed something rectangular and threw it at the surprised soldier.  
"Here, I think you'll need that." she muttered. Overwhelmed, Cassie stared at the object in her faded hands. It was like a godsend, full of soothing ingredients that she had missed for so long. A candy bar, with rice chips, chocolate and peanut butter.  
Her stomach suddenly roared louder than she ever could as a cougar.

"Where did you get that from?" She asked dumbfounded. She waved casually. "I get it on my last foray. Had to be good for something." She nodded encouragingly. "It's not just there to look at it, this all yours, Kiddo."  
Cassie didn't say that twice. In a wild rage, she tore the paper from her candy bar and devoured it in large pieces. The cereals stuffed the holes in her empty stomach and left such a soothing sensation in her belly. She sighed in relief. "Thanks man. Another hour without food and I would have become a cannibal."  
The smile on Mileena's lips disappeared and she looked away.

Cassie felt uncomfortable. "Sorry." She said quickly. "I didn't mean it so."  
"It's okay." she muttered blankly. "You're not the first one who thinks like that." Now she looked up at her again. There was something defiant in her eyes. "Only I wouldn't sink to such a low level as the one who did this to you."  
A shiver ran down her spine. "Leatherface." She nodded stiffly.  
"I dream of him every night since I woke up from my coma!" It suddenly burst out of her. "He tormented me, mutilated me and killed me. Every time I wake up just before, but it seemed ... so real." Over Mileena's head she gazed out over the open sea. A flash of light enlightened the sky in the distance.

"Do you think he's still out there?" She whispered barely audible. The yellow eyes fixed her worriedly. "Only the gods know it. But I feel he still lives in the shadows somewhere. Planning his next attack..."  
"And continues to search for me? Or strike again in 40 years?" Mileena turned her eyes back to the stony ground where the rainwater gathered.  
"I mean, why does he do that? What happened all those years ago? My great-great-whatever-grandfather was the first Blade to look for him, but in vain. Only one legend exists. But what is behind this mystery?" She sighs.  
"After 160 years I am the first person who has seen him and with it the only victim who has come away alive."

Mileena didn't look at her when she asked. "What do you intend to do then?" She absently rolled a dried petal between her fingers. Her head was full of confused thoughts but her heart already knew where it would lead the next chapter. Only one way to lead to justice. "It's time to go home. I'll return to the Earthrealm, this evening." There it was. She was afraid of her reaction, for now leaving the protective nest. But it goes a straight other way.  
"Not alone." She said suddenly. Mileena grabbed her wrist and looked at her with steady gaze. "This one will come with you." Disbelieve. She didn't know what to say first. But Mileena continued. "You were on the brink of civilian life and your comeback in front of me has been more than worthy. It may not have passed much time, but you realize how much stronger and wiser you have been since then. You _are_ ready. The time has come to bring the terrible truth to judge!"

Her support greatly strengthened her and Cassie's chest swelled with pride. She rose to full height and directed her determined gaze northwards, across the sea. Where her home was. "Well then, let us go!"

 _... Time to come home..._

 **Yay, we've finished the "big" chapter, discovering the secrets of Mileena and Shang Tsung's deserted island. And one destiny. Cassie will finally return to Earthrealm to explore the legend behind Leatherface with her mentor and perhaps uncover the terrible truth behind the attack. But will they succeed? Stay tuned, chapter 22 coming soon! Greetings MasterFran**


	22. Chapter 22

**MasterFran is back with a new chapter. At the moment I have a lot of motivation and ideas while writing and so I hit it again. I don't babble long, but wish you a lot of fun. As always, R & R!**

Of course she had to have the big mouth again. Return to Earthrealm, just like that. That was the most feebleminded idea Cassie had for a long time and she could beat herself for it.  
How the hell should they do that? A suspected mutilated and mentally ill soldier, along with a deceased rebel and cannibal. Excellent!  
It wouldn't fail on the return trip, because thanks to their energies, they were able to return to the mainland via the Kahnem Bridge. But what then?  
Now the biggest problem was their refuge. They couldn't possibly travel through the realms like outlaws, not if they wanted to get serious clues about Leatherface's secret.

But where should she go? Home to her parents? The thought of hugging her father again and putting a smile to her mother's lips hurt her deep in her chest.  
But she had to get over it, that she couldn't go home. Not yet.  
Now, if she allowed herself to be seen at home, she would be imprisoned immediately, somewhere safe in a psychiatric ward. Full of blasphemes in a white cell. The idea made her sick and she shook herself violently. Going to her real home was definitely not an option.  
Cassie stood distantly on the middle of the bridge, staring at the surface of the water, which glittered in the brilliant red of the sunset. It had stopped raining, but now there was a lot of fog over the lost sea. Mileena did the same, but it was up to Cassie to find a solution.

She closed her eyes and went into herself. They needed a safe haven, shelter, and someone to trust without being betrayed. And then she opened her eyes again as she realized. After all, there was one person in the world who could entrust her with all her secrets, not only in over 20 years, but also her life. They had both gone through a lot together, sewing their own wounds, sharing their supplies and helping each other out of nearly everything. That's what you do when you're best friends.

"I know where to go. She is the only person who gives us safe shelter and refuge." She said suddenly.  
Mileena turned her face and narrowed her eyes. "Do you mean your comrade ..?"  
"Specialist Jacqui Briggs." She finished the sentence. "Yes. She is our only hope at the moment."  
"And you can trust her?" She hooked suspiciously. Cassie clenched her fingers into fists. "She is my best friend. I would trust her with everything. Believe me, without her we will be defenseless, without a place to stay in Earthrealm. And cannot plan the rest."

Cassie rummaged her smartphone out of her bag. It didn't have much battery left, but it was sufficient to determine their position. She pointed roughly in one direction. "It's not far to their farm, only about 90 km." Mileena just spat from the bridge into the water. "And how are you going to get there, joker?" She raised an eyebrow. "What about your teleport?" She gave a chuckle. "Darling, that works at distances of a few meters. Such long journeys by teleport can only be done by gods, or their descendants like Rain, or the sorcerers." Cassie nodded, though it was relatively pointless. She looked thoughtfully from the bridge over to the mainland.

They couldn't teleport. She didn't have a motorcycle anymore. And walking the route by feet definitely took too long. In addition, the danger of being recognized and discovered was far too great. Embittered she racked her brain, because there had to be another way to overcome such a distance simple and absolutely undetected. Undetected, invisible. In another body. She could feel the lightbulb lighting up deep inside her.  
Since yesterday it was no longer a problem to travel in another body. Maybe she wasn't trained that much, but it was her only chance.  
Mileena stared at her in surprise as her ears widened and her nose twisted into a wide muzzle, she went on all fours, and her body stretched out and covered with fur. And now the cat strutted again on the bridge railing in front of her, the fire of the sunset burning in her blue eyes.

"You're sure we'll do it that way?" She asked skeptically. But secretly she seemed to agree with this plan, because she also performed her Animality and stretched on her hind legs.  
Impatiently, Cassie whipped her tail. "We will make it! And now, jump on!"  
Slightly restrained, her mentor clawed at her upper arm and pulled herself up until she finally sat on her back, right between her shoulder blades. Her little paws clutched her dog tag.  
"Are you ready, Cassie?" She chattered from her elevated position. She made a short purr of herself. "Ready if you are, Buttershy!"  
She sighs. "I hate your movie references ..." She shuffled her paws and growled. "Then you better get ready!"  
With her mighty roar she started to jump and landed with her paws back on the stones of the bridge and after a short training with her small weight on her back she chased steadily forward, over the straight to the mainland. A comforting feeling flowed through her limbs as her bales touched the familiar soil beneath her. The Earthrealm.

If she remembered, it took her just 9 hours to cross the track. Endurance racing had been an integral part of Cassie's training as a soldier, and now, with four swift paws and her talent, she was even quicker.  
As they reached the open gate of the farm, Cassie fell to the ground exhausted and licked her paws, sore and torn from the long road. Mileena sniffed close to the fence, occasionally balking her thick fur. "What now? It's the middle of the night, Cass!"

She pulled herself back heavily to her feet, staring intently into the darkness. Only a single street lamp was burning at the gate. She nudged the skunk forward with her muzzle. "I don't know yet, Lenny." She flicked her neck around a post. "I know a short cut to the tractor barn. Let's crawl there until sunrise. Then we'll see."  
She had no idea how she could best face Jacqui without the poorest having a heart attack. She would have plenty of time to think about it for the rest of the night.

She first tried to cross the great pasture without disturbing the sleeping cattle. She succeeded for the most part, but shortly before she reached the gate, a young calf let out a loud moan and a part of the herd started in panic. "Great." Hissed Mileena. "What now, Einstein?" Cassie pulled her under the fence and jumped quickly on the wall that separated the meadow from the dung heap. "It's just cows! Get up, we're almost there!" Volatile the tarkatan clambered up to the ravines of the wall and clung there.

Disgusted by the smell of the dung, she held her nose. "Yuck, I've always known cows stink so bad."  
Cassie grimaced. "Not as bad as your alluring breath." Mileena spat indignantly. "I'll show you right away, which smells alluring!"  
She would never know. Suddenly a bright ray of light pierced the darkness and blinded it. The cougar lunged forward and Mileena clung to her hind leg. "Hey!" A loud voice roared. And as the glow of the lamp drew from her eyes, she recognized the monstrous metal arms of the black man and the barrel of the rifle aimed directly at her head.

She instinctively responded, grabbing Mileena with her sharp teeth by the nape of her neck and pulling her down into the dunghill with a surprised squeal. Now she stood there with a skunk in her mouth and scorched to the elbows in the cow shit. She heard quick footsteps moving around the barrier and Cassie stamped as fast as she could. Their lead wasn't lasting. She looked desperately left and right as she pulled hooks across the property before she came to a stop in front of the large corn-planted field. She spat Mileena on the floor. "In there!" She hissed.

The skunk jumped in between the plants and Cassie did the same. There they sat, out of breath and looked around. "Do you think we're rid of him?" She gasped, trying to rub the dung out of her black and white fur. Cassie did not answer at first, but stared through the cornflowers. "Duck!" She whispered quietly. Mileena looked around. "Where do you see a duck?"  
"I said, HEAD DOWN!" She screamed and threw herself down, clawing Mileena's back with one paw and throwing her muzzle into the dirt.  
A shot from a gun tore the warm night air. The caliber missed her head by a few inches. Cassie pressed her chin deep into the mud of the field and tried not to breathe, but her heartbeat pulsed louder than ever in the ears. Jax still pointed the rifle into the field and began to divide the plants. Footsteps sounded on the other site as a second person came into the action.

"Dad what's wrong?" Cassie couldn't see her, but she heard the familiar voice of her best friend Jacqui. "I saw a cougar!" Growled Jax. "A cougar? Are you sure? There are no cougars around this area!" Carefully, she squinted through the blades of grass. How Jax reloaded his weapon and then handed it to Jacqui, who was rubbing her eyes wearily in her pajamas. "I am sure. And I don't want that creature near our animals, or close to my family." He marched back to the gate. "I drive the cattle back to the stable quickly. You keep your eyes open for the cat. If you see that bitch, blow it away!"

She heard the squeak of the yard gate, then Jax was gone, and Jacqui circled the cornfield with her flashlight, holding the shotgun with her other hand. Her heart was beating her up to her throat. She had no intention of getting a bullet in the face tonight. And at least all of her best friend. Mileena was sitting close beside her front leg, not a little less panicked. The eyes of the two animals met briefly but they spoke volumes. _What do we do now?_  
"She has to know." Cassie gasped carefully. "She'll kill you!" The skunk hissed back under a mouthful of mud. But Mileena tucked herself sideways in her fur like a burdock. "Be careful…" On her toes, she crawled forward, until her muzzle almost pushed out of the corn.

"Jacqui! It's me!" She whispered softly, hoping the Specialist would drop the gun. The bullet painfully brushing her foreleg restores her hopes. Snarling, she sprang out of the sheltering shrubbery and straight onto Jacqui, who fell to the ground under the sudden weight of the cougar and hit her head on the ground.  
Cassie jumped back in horror and struggled as Jacqui crept cautiously backwards, groping in the dark for the rifle she had lost on impact. _Oh no you won't…_

Everything went wrong but now they were knee deep in the shit. The blonde threw herself at Jacqui again, pounding the rifle into the field with one paw and gripping her shirt with her teeth as Jacqui began to lash around and opened her mouth in a call for help. But she was inferior to the adult cat. While Cassie dragged her best friend to her private barn, Mileena stuffed her tail into Jacqui's mouth, preventing her from screaming. It was too dark for her to recognize, but Cassie's cat's eyes gave her a good orientation. With both front paws, the cougar pushed open the door and they thumped unrestrained into her room. Mileena bounced under the bed and Jacqui was thrown to the floor in front of her, where the young woman tried to choke the many hair out of her mouth.

Then she realized what had happened and jumped up from the floor. She stood there in shorts and a tshirt, and all unarmed. But she got a pocket knife on her desk and she now held it out to the cat. Cassie stood with her back to the door, her fur brushed and her eyes wide. Her form had to be very frightening. She was afraid that Jacqui would scream for help. Or attack her with the blade. She didn't want to hurt her best friend. But before she could say anything, or let alone change back, she watched as Jacqui's shocked gaze wandered from her eyes down to her chest., on her Tag.

Suddenly, she heard loud footsteps right behind the door and the energetic shouts of Uncle Jax. "Jacqui! Are you in there?" Fuck. Regardless, she jumped past her friend and hid under her blanket. There was a heavy knock on the door. Jacqui's eyes flew over to Cassie's pleading gaze and she prayed silently: _Please, do not betray me ..._  
Jacqui quickly threw the knife away and darted to the door, where Jax grabbed her with his big hands. "Is everything OK? Are you hurt?" He raised his nose in the air and, to her horror, showed signs of entering the room.

"It's okay, Dad." She lied quickly. "I was just scared when I saw the cougar. But now he's gone! I saw him straight running in the woods!"  
Jax dropped his heavy metal arms to her relief. "That's good, honey. I was really worried right now."  
Jacqui gave a nervous laugh. "Worried about me? Come on, dad."  
He scratched his head for a second, then quickly ruffled his daughter's hair. "You know your old man. Sleep well, Jacqui!" He mumbled. She quickly gave him a kiss on the cheek before leaving. "Love you, Dad!" She watched for a while to see if Jax had really disappeared, then quickly slammed the door, locked it, and spun around. There, she stared at the big cat, who was sitting on her bed with widening eyes before asking in disbelief:

"Cassie?!"

 **What will be Jacqui's reaction to the return of her best friend? Stay tuned, you see it in chapter 23! I try to hurry, until then, a happy first Advent! See you soon d:) !**


	23. Chapter 23

**No introduction today, I'm too lazy. I still wish you a lot of fun!**

They faced each other, a cat and a human, and continued to stare at each other with the greatest bewilderment. Jacqui's eyes had become the size of dinner plates and her breathing was shallow and slow as she lowered the knife slowly. In slow motion she took a step forward and shook her hand out to her snout. "Cassie? Is it really you?" She whispered softly.  
Carefully, Cassie rose from her bruised stance under the blanket and her fur calmed down as she resolutely held out her muzzle to her friend. "It's really me, Jacqui! You can trust me." She meow timidly. She had to reveal her true form again.  
Cassie gathered her courage and eventually turned back to her human form as she stepped carefully off the bed, wrapped in the blanket.  
A wide smile played around Jacquis lips and tears stood in her brown eyes. But a fraction of the time before her hand touched her face something unexpected happened.  
Her expression suddenly darkened as if she had bitten into a lemon. "Jacqui, is everything ok?" She asked uncertainly.  
She suddenly grabbed a blunt object and slammed it into her chest without any warning. The young woman gave a snorting sound as she was thrown to the ground, gasping for air.  
There she rubbed her breastbone for a short time, but when she opened her mouth and stared back up, she looked down at the sharp blade, which was aimed directly at her forehead.  
"Damn it, Jacqui! What is this?!" she stammered.

Embittered, she held the knife on her head. "Prove it. Prove to me that I can trust you!"  
Despite the threat, she suddenly lost all tension. And looked back without blinking. "Do you remember Kurdistan? At any rate, I won't forget how we were locked up in two different rooms. And an assassin shot you in the kidney. I had a plan how to get you out alive. But I had to pretend to shoot you for this plan to work. Just then you asked me the same question. Can I trust you, Cass?"  
She slowly got up from the floor and raised her hands protectively. "And I'll tell you again, Jacqui! You can trust me! Because that's what friends are there for each other."  
With a clinking sound, the knife fell to the ground and stuck in a panel.

Jacqui grabbed Cassie by the back of her neck with both hands, pulled her into a tight hug and began to cry. "It really is you. Oh my god, you're here!" She sobbed into her shoulder.  
Even Cassie's knees were weak and she didn't want to lose control. "That's what I've been trying to tell you all along, idiot!" She croaked with a laugh.  
Jacqui punched her upper arm. "Shut up, you bitch! I just had to make sure you were the real Cassie."  
She still squeezed her friend so tightly that her fingers turned blue. "I cannot believe you're really alive." she gasped. Cassie hesitantly wriggled out of the embrace and stared at her insecurity. "Why should I be dead?" Only then did she realize.

Not only was she planning a suicide, she had made it very obvious. And Jacqui confirmed her thoughts. "The government and the military officially declared you dead two days ago." she murmured absently. "Of course, we all started from suicide. Since there was no sign of you, the last detection signal somewhere on the lost sea, and the last message to the General ... "  
Cassie winced at the words. It would make her uncomfortable to really say that she succumbed to this suicide, but her mother really thought her dead. "How did Mum handle it? That I, well, maybe would not return?" She asked hesitantly. Jacqui sighed. "Uncle Johnny was already devastated when he received the message. But you won't believe it possible, in fact, how much Aunt Sonya has suffered these days. She wasn't the same anymore."

Her heart sank painfully at those words, and Cassie had an urgent need to apologize for everything. She became more and more aware of what she had done to her friends and her family.  
"I ... I couldn't guess what I've done." she replied sheepishly instead.  
Jacqui quickly wiped the tears from the corner of her eye. "What the hell? The main thing is that you still live. You don't believe how happy I am to see you, Cass!"  
"How is the team doing? I wasn't gone long, but still?" She asked hesitantly.  
Jacqui bit her lower lip. "We were not easy in this time. After all, you were the leader of this group. No, our best friend. Actually, we refused to continue, but Flagg refused the resolution. Instead, we'll be moved back to Kurdistan once we've got Greg to teach and Jin can fully fulfill his new leadership role."

Cassie almost choked on her words, now she didn't get anything. "Who the hell is Greg?" Her friend looked bashful. "Our new soldier in the team. Sergeant Gregory de Finch. He's not quite fit yet, he may need another two weeks."  
Cassie stared at her. "They replaced me? MUM replaced me?"  
"Substituted isn't quite true, they just didn't want a team of three and it should only be temporary until ..." She broke off in her own phrase as she realized that she was about to tell shit. "Well, he should be the replacement for you after you disappeared."  
Her facial muscles began to twitch furiously. Did she just feel sorry for this woman, who she called a mother? She thought she would be missed, too. But instead, she was exchanged from day one like a slaughtered cattle. Did she really believe someone in the asylum would cry after her? Nonsense, she had fallen like one of many through the social and professional grid. Jacqui grabbed her by both shoulders.  
"Cassie, please!" She pleaded. "We didn't want that at all! Really, nothing in this world replaces my best teammate. Nobody had anything to oppose to this run, not even General Blade. You have to believe me!"

Cassie sighed and sounded dismissive. "You don't believe it yourself, Briggs. Look at me." She pointed to her disfigured face, the scars on her neck. "I should have known better. And they would have kicked me out anyway, even if I hadn't disappeared. You don't have to deny it, I overheard the general and the secretary myself the day I left." She swallowed. "Who needs a mentally ill and ugly disfigured soldier in a unit like the SF?" But her voice became now more self-confident. "But I've learned better now, Jacqui. Once upon a time, I had to take myself aloof from life to re-realize that there is something more worthy to life in this world, and I cannot change this terrible act within me." She pointed with an index finger at her heart. Jacqui looked at her silently and then smiled.

"How did you become so wise, Cass?"  
She smiled back. "It took an unusual encounter to get my life under control again. That same night, I met ..." She was preparing to talk about the last few days, but unexpectedly she was interrupted by Jacqui's horrified outcry. "A SKUNK!" She yelled and jumped up. Skunk? Oh shit, because Cassie knew which third mammal she had targeted in this room. "Jacqui, no, wait!" She called but it was already so late. A glass bottle flew through the room at the speed of light, shattering under the bed as a little black and white animal climbed onto her bed with a horrified squeak and dodged the flying shards.

She clung to a post and spat indignantly. Jacqui was obviously looking for war with this creature, and Cassie couldn't stop her as she grabbed the knife from the ground and threw it toward the shrieking monster.  
The blade produced a crack in her left ear, but Mileena indignantly threw herself on Jacqui and tore her off her feet. She tried to grab her by the throat and her best friend punched her face several times that it was banging. "Stop it, right now!" Cassie shouted, but no chance. The two women each tried to gain the upper hand and rolled over the floor, while constantly bumping against any furniture. Cassie had enough and threw herself into the fight. She grabbed Mileena by the ear and Jacqui by the hair and pulled the two apart. "I said, knock it off!" She yelled at them loudly.

It was suddenly quiet in the room.  
Mileena growled indignantly over her torn ear, and Jacqui mumbled a bloodstain from her nose. "She started it!" The older woman snarled indignantly. Cassie gave her a head bump. "Damn it, be quiet!" She cursed.  
Jacqui jumped back onto her feet. "Good, Cass, hold her tight! I'll get Dad!" She gasped, running to the door. When she tried to touch the handle with her fingers, something flew through the room again, Mileenas Sai. Cassie had grabbed him and flung him and barely missed her left hand. Jacqui jerked back and stared at her in horror. "Damn, Cassie what was that?!"  
"Get away from the door, Jacqui! You will not call anyone! Mileena is not your enemy!" She said calmly.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, her hand still hovering above the handle.  
"What's going on here, Cass?" She quickly raised her hands and silenced her. "It is OK. Please, Jacqui, don't hurt her. You'll understand if I tell you everything now."  
If Jacqui was good at something, she was a good listener. She really said nothing and didn't even blink her eyes while Cassie gently taught her the events of the last days. Mileena had settled herself naturally on her bed, where she still clutched her left ear with bloody fingers and with her yellow eyes alternately staring at the girls with scrutiny.

"Oh man ..." was the first sentence she brought out when Cassie finished her story. She touched her head slightly traumatized. "I know, that's a lot of information at once ..." she mumbled in shame. Jacqui waved quickly. "Have no fear. I won't ask any questions. And I won't betray you. Yeah, both of you!" She extended her hand to the Tarkatan. "I'm sorry that I overreacted so much earlier. I owe you something." Mileena brought a tentative smile and clapped her hand. "Already forgotten, kid. I'm not eating you anymore for that." Disgusted, Jacqui looked at her hand, where a thick patch of blood stuck between her fingers. She quickly wiped it on her pants. Then she turned helplessly to her friend. "What broke up with her that she's suddenly so nice?" She whispered through clenched teeth.

She had to hug herself a hard laugh and quickly Cassie pulled up her sleeve and presented the bite on her forearm. Thick crusts had formed over the bite holes and the uninjured skin glowed in a morbid mixture of black and purple. "She can still do different things in terms of training methods and stubbornness."  
"You're idiots, both of you!" She said, shaking her head. Jacqui had to clear her throat deeply before she brought together the only meaningful question. "What are you doing here on the farm, Cass?"  
Cassie decided to come straight to the topic. "I need your help, Jacqui."  
"Why don't you go home?" She countered promptly with narrow eyes.  
She shook her head. "I cannot do that. Not yet, they... well, something would block my way. I have a mission to fulfill. "  
Jacqui was still frowning. "What mission?"

"Me, so actual we, we will unlock the secrets of Leatherface. I won't be happy for any second of my life without at least trying. Who is he? What are his motives?" Her eyes flash. "Why did he want me?"  
Her friend's teeth were pressed tightly together. "And why did you come to me then?"  
"You are my BFF and I wouldn't only entrust you with my secrets, but also with my life. Look at me, Jacqui. I am considered: officially dead! I have no more shelter or they put me in the asylum. Please, you are my only hope. You've always been more than my esteemed colleague. You are and will remain my best friend. Forever!"

Her expression softened at the words and she closed Cassie in a warm hug, not without whispering in her ear. "You know that you can always count on a specialist. And especially on me. Of course I will help you, Cass. With all the power of the gods."  
Gratefully, Cassie buried her head in her shoulder. "I knew I could count on you." she smiled. The two separated again and it was Mileena, who walked gracefully from the bed and leaned against the wall. "Then we're all best friends, eh?" She said sarcastically. Jacqui gave her a piercing look over her shoulder. "We'll see about that, crazy woman!" But with a mischievous grin.

The Tarkatan winked at her before it seemed serious. "And girls, how are you going to do it? I'm not assuming that Leatherface will ring the front door."  
Cassie became thoughtful. It was enough for her to accept the idea of finding this creature and returning to Earthrealm. But she wasn't yet ready to think how the hell they would start. That has never been her strength. As she was about to reply, Jacqui pressed two fingers on her lips. "No, don't worry. You leave that to me! Because there is only one fabulous master who not only knows everything, but can always make our plans!"  
Cassie's thoughts flickered, frightened but filled with excitement. Did she really mean?

She did. Jacqui had already had her smartphone and dialed a number. "It is time to gather the team again, Cass! Our leader has returned."

 **No long intro, but a longer outro. I've been very busy lately, so it took a little longer to update. But I kept my promise to publish a new chapter in the final minutes of the year. I wish you all a happy new year 2018! Your MasterFran, Like always, R &R!**


	24. Chapter 24

**My dear friends, readers, fans and interested people. It's been way too long since the last update was posted here. My work, the preparation for the university, and the unfortunate incidents have long prevented me from continuing this story. Only fragments can be added every few days or weeks. But I finally made it after a long, later time. Chapter 24 is finally finished. Unfortunately, I'm still not satisfied, but the show must go on! Unfortunately, there are only boring chapters in between that only have to serve their purpose. Have fun.**

Cassie didn't know if it was the bewilderment or the sheer horror as much more the joyful excitement of letting Jacqui send her text message without knocking her cell phone out of her hands. "And what did you say?" She fumed impatiently. "Now stay relaxed. It's the middle of the night, we all have a free weekend and we're not as addicted as you are, Cass!" She said a bit annoyed. "Give the boys some time to digest it." Her cell phone slid back into her pocket. "Anyways, Takeda is traveling with Hanzo to the temple of Lin Kuei. He will be back in at least 7 days. But maybe someone will come to help us." She added with a wink.

She wanted to say something else, but Mileena cut her off frantically. "And how and where should we endure until that happens?" She asked slightly paranoid.  
"Don't worry, guys." murmured Jacqui. "You're safe in here." Cassie looked carefully through one of the curtains, out into the darkness. An impressive half-moon floated in the sky, illuminating the golden fields. "What time is it now?" She whispered to her friend. She looked at her cell phone. "4:06 a.m." As best friend, she immediately understood what she was after. "You need to rest. You had a long odyssey behind you, Cass." She pointed to her bed. "You are going to stay here. I'm going over to the house and sleeping in my room. "Mileena gave an alarmed brow. "And you're sure, they won't control the room when you're not here?" Jacqui chuckled.

"Won't be a problem. This is my private lounge and either I snore here or over there. That doesn't interest my parents. But they know any way they cannot come in here." She unpacked her jacket and slipped into her slippers, which were under the desk. "Besides, I'll be back as early as possible. Maybe in about 4 hours." She looked at the clock again and then at the outside. "My dad will be getting up again soon, because of the cattle, so I should go. But he is then on the other side of the yard, so don't panic. Nobody will be waiting for you here in the Jacquass Secret Camp!" She held out her fist to Cassie and nudged her with hers. "Thank you, J-B!" She said with a smile. Jacqui winked and walked slowly out the door. "Good night!" She whispered. Then she quietly closed the wooden door behind her and hopped back to the farm in the moonlight.

Cassie stared after her for a while, until her silhouette disappeared behind a barn, before she closed the curtains and sagged on the chair, exhausted. Her gaze shifted to Mileena, who sat cross-legged on the bed, fiddling with her fingernails. "And what do you think? Can you trust Jacqui?" It was supposed to sound mischievous and funny, but she did not suspect she was doing anything else with it. Her eyes flickered up and then back to her hands. "I hope so." She tried to sound encouraging, but she didn't seem really happy. Cassie got up and sat with her at the edge of the bed. "You will be able to trust me that Jacqui is faithful and will never betray us." She shook herself slightly and sighed. "Never say never, Cass. At some point everyone breaks with this…" She clearly spat out the word with hate. "Faithfulness." The soldier seemed silently as she continued.

"Kano, Rain, the Tarkatans, probably even Tanya. They swore allegiance and loyality and the confidence to fight for the revolution by my side. And what came out of it? Naked betrayal. It was all about one, it was either gold, the power of the amulet, or just hitting the winner's side. They hadn't cared about me in the least." She closed her eyes and bared her teeth. "Since then, my trust in other people has been very broken. At some point, it's all about their own shitty life!"  
Cassie became very thoughtful at her words, and yet she was looking for something to cheer her up. "But why did you decide to trust me then?" Mileena didn't answer right away. "You cannot compare that. You're different, unlike like the others."

Cassie gently tugged on her lacquer-black hair as she responded. "The same thing I thought of you. Why should I trust someone who's only known as a killer without mercy? I can tell you what it is. An instinct. A seventh sense that tells you that the core of a person is good. That's why I wanted to find you again, because for the first time I didn't feel alone with my problem anymore." She thought of her disfigured face. "And you managed to retrieve me from the edge of death and bring me back to life. Because if there's something more important in this world than stupid amulets, gold or green or pinky power, then it's friendship!" Mileena looked up in surprise.

"You can trust a true friend. And my friend is also your friend. Got it? "  
She started making strange noises. Was she crying? The grunting noises beat in chuckles. Oh, she laughed! Not these sadistic ones but a real laugh broke out of her. Was she laughing at her? Cassie started to worry, but Mileena punched the back of her head so she saw the stars and giggled.  
"You are sometimes inscrutable, child!" Mileena lovingly took her into a headlock and rubbed her head with her fist. "But what would I do with my messed-up life if a good friend doesn't always cheer me up?" At these words she could even purr for joy without being a cat. "Otherwise I would be a little bastard."

She yawned loudly and rubbed her hands. The palms were still sore and scared from her long journey, back from Shang Tsungs Island to hear Realm. She needed so much energy. And tomorrow, hopefully, meet the rest of the team again. "My time for a nap." She hailed and stretched exhausted on the bed. Soon, the tiredness attacked her like a claw and she fell asleep.  
Mileena sat awake and upright on the mattress for a few more minutes, staring intently into the darkness of the room, still thinking of Cassie's words. Friendship. Family. Never had that been part of her life. But maybe now. "Your friend is also my friend, friends are there for each other. In good times, as in bad times." She whispered barely audible to herself. Then she curled up next to Cassie and closed her eyes.

A loud knock sounded through the silence of dawn. Mileena opened her eyes instantly and pointed them at the door. It knocked again. Her breath went flat and her fingers instinctively took hold of her weapon. Cassie had her eyes closed, and yet she began to move lazily as she began to nag. "Five minutes left." There was another knock, more violent this time. With a low growl in her throat, Mileena crept to the door on all fours, the sai threateningly raised as. "What the hell are you doing?" Her head whirled around. The young soldier had straightened up and stared at her with drooping sagging eye muscles. "That's just Jacqui." She hissed bored and Mileena squinted. "What makes you so sure?" Cassie snorted. "There's only one idiot who knocks on doors in a loop as vacuum cleaner salesman hanging in my phone line."

"Hey, I heard that!" It snapped from outside. They heard Jacqui's foot rattle. "Come on, open the door, you sleepyheads. It's damned cold out here!"  
"Mileena, go ahead! I cannot get up! I'm done." Cassie groaned. So Mileena turned the key with pointed fingers and carefully pushed down the doorknob. Jacqui didn't open the door to her lounge, she literally kicked it in and hit Mileena's nasal bone. "Ugh, is that chilly outside! Somebody should give the grandmaster a kick in his frosty bud!" She fluted happily. "How are you both?"  
"It sucks." She growled, rubbing her red nose. Jacqui chuckled. "Why so bad mood in the morning?" A pair of dangerous yellow eyes stared at her. "Are you crazy to ask me that?"

All at once Cassie began to bawl under the bed. "That's perfectly clear, J-B! All her life has been a series of doors in her face!"  
"And then suddenly she bumps into meeeeeee!" Her friend continued singing. Cassie was laughing like a hyena. Mileena snorted. "Keep up the good work, baby. And there is an early lunch!"  
Cassie jumped from the bed with her nose outstretched. "I already smell an early lunch!" Carefully, Jacqui put a tray on the carpet and smiled. "Was actually breakfast. I thought you could be hungry. You've been on the road for a long time." The soldier didn't notice the saliva dripping from the corner of her mouth as she surveyed the tray with eyes widening. Frenchtoast, Fried eggs, crispy Bacon from own production. The Briggs secret recipe. To endure even worse, if you haven't eaten anything sensible for days.

"Go on, eat! I don't want to put myself in the kitchen on my free weekend again."  
Cassie managed to break off a piece of Bacon carefully. With the crisp sound of the fried meat and the fat that ran between her fingers, she could no longer control herself. Regardless, she tore meat and eggs to pieces and stuffed them between her teeth in a rage, dripping the sauce off her skinless chin. She didn't feel it anymore. The upper epithelia were dead and insensitive to pain. The liquid yolk ran down her parched esophagus and squeezed through her compressed stomach folds.  
It was only when she opened her eyes that she almost choked on shame. Jacqui stared at her open-mouthed, and only then she realized how she had to look like, how she knelt over the tray and made a massacre like a slaughter.

"Um. There would have been a knife and a fork but the main thing, it tastes." her friend coughed. Cassie unobtrusively swallowed her bite and guiltily held a piece of bacon in Mileena's direction with her dripping fingers. "Do you also like something of that?" She asked with a stupid grin. She just gave her a questioning look with a drooping eyebrow. The answer to that question didn't come out of her mouth.  
"Didn't you disregard something Cage? She is still half Tarkatan! Needs Fresh meat!" Everyone turned their heads in the direction of the unknown voice and the silhouette in the door. He had nearly hasn't changed in these days, just forgot to shave. Otherwise this crazy Shaolin monk was still the old one. "Jin!" Cassie screamed in surprise.

She couldn't help but jump up, distributing the rest of the contents of the plate all over the wooden floor, and threw herself into his arms. Heheld her tightly against his chest and pressed his head into her shoulder. Almost like a big brother. "I thought we'd see each other again in the Netherrealm." He mumbled into her shoulder. "Jin!" Jacqui hissed indignantly and gave him a thrust in the rib whereupon he broke from the embrace with Cassie.  
He was still out of breath and shook his head. He was still relatively relaxed, but Mileena's presence didn't seem to bother him at all. For being not only a notorious assassin and the former empress of Outworld, but officially annihilated. Respect. "I still cannot believe it. What have you become?" She pulled a pout. "I'm still getting the same creepy grimace as before. I didn't disappear that long either." He stared at her incredulously. "5 weeks you do call "not that long"?"

"Are you stupid? I was away for not more than a week." she replied, confused. "Nop." another voice suddenly mingled. "It was a week in Outworld. 5 weeks for Earthrealm." Mileena casually leaned against the wall behind the door. Kung Jin nodded. "She's right." Cassie paused. "Are you kidding me? 5 weeks, why doesn't anyone tell me?" She snapped. Jin didn't let that distract him. "But find out that it's the end of October. Meaning, if you want to put your plan into action, you have to hurry."  
"What plan?" She asked stupidly. "Cassie, when you still want to be a leader, just learn to think. A mentally unstable soldier, maimed and disfigured by an unknown, of whom we hold nothing detectable in hand and only mysteries wrap around his existence. That's the first horror maw. Without a portal, you can find a place that no one else could ever reach out of Earthrealm because it doesn't exist in our world, only those with special abilities like you." He could only barely suppress the suspicion and envy in his voice. "You'll again catch up with a rebirth of a clone..." A nasty aggressive growl was the response. Jin waved. "Get over yourself, Mileena." The growl died away to an angry snarl. "You teamed up, and now decides to pursue these mysteries. End of the 5 week story. Beginning of an immature plan." He finished his little speech. "Aha." Was Cassie's only response while secretly cursing "asshole." This guy was sometimes terribly pesky and yet he was right in one point. The plan was immature. So he continued.

"Start where the information begin and make it easy. Hell man, your grandfather had even started to study it." He threw a very old notebook right in her hands. She was terribly frightened when she recognized the cover. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In the footsteps of Leatherface. By Herman Arthur Blade ". Something that one certain person in her family never overlooked. "Shit, damn, where and how did you ..." she stuttered. "Her spint was carelessly open one time. It was for a good cause, ok?" He replied bluntly. She was still staring at the cover, her grandfather's heirloom to her mother. He knew what would happen, but she couldn't help it. "She will kill you, tearing you in half and bury you alive when she finds out." she muttered. And yet it was a comforting feeling to hold something of her mother in her hands.

With her fingertips, she turned the book over and narrowed her eyes to read the faded ink. ... from the first word on her stomach twisted uncomfortably. When she finished the first notes, she swallowed and turned the page. Just a single sight of a black-and-white photo immediately led her to smash the book and hold her breath. Previously, she would have been affected by it, but wouldn't beoverly shocked, but now the sight of a faded record of two scalped heads deducted from chin to forehead and the ears, was subtracted. The dead eyes wide open, the pain-twisted mouths.  
Her brain was paralyzed with horror again. It was so real and she was so close to ending up like these poor creatures, dead, murdered, drawn, archived in the documented list of victims. Again, her doubts about the plan came up. Should I really go through this? She squeezed the air between her teeth. No, she had to know. This beautiful, cruel truth.  
Slightly stilted, she handed the book to her friend again and tried to look as unimpressed as possible. "Go on." He studied her for a moment before taking the book back. "I couldn't find any real clues from the records of 1975 and 1935. No relation to a possible context. Whether the government wants to keep it a secret or they're simply stupid, we have no choice but to go back to the very beginning, Texas 1855. What we need are eyewitness accounts."

She was really impressed, but she knew it had to be a problem. Her friend just bubbled it out. "Bravo, you genius." Jacqui growled. "How do you want to do that? I don't know people who know people, nor anyone who is 160 years old."  
Kung Jin shrugged. "Oh yes, we all know somebody." There was a short silence, but then.  
"Erron Black!" Mileena suddenly spat it out. "Why didn't I get the idea sooner ..."  
Jin raised an eyebrow. "Easy mate, that's why you got me." Jacqui waved her arms wildly. "How the hell do you come up with the absurd thought that Black is over 150 years old?" She asked, completely stunned, as if Kung Jin were confusing the entire world order right before her eyes. He raised his hand to silence her. "That is a long story. We won't discuss it now, but believe us, it's true." Mileena nodded in agreement.  
Cassie shook her head. "And where should we find Black? In Outworld?" She saw the hybrid flinch. "Forget it, I cannot go back to my homeland. Not now."

The Shaolin sighed. "What day is it today, Mileena?"  
She licked her long fangs questioningly, so he went on. "The middle of the last week of the month. What did you do as a Kahnum on such a day? "  
Me as Kahnum. The good old time. It was almost ironic and absurd to hear it, but her brain suddenly lit up. "The emptying of my ... the Kahn's safes." She whispered. He nodded in agreement. "Kotal Kahn keeps his gold only in the safest place in the world. It is not located in Outworld. And he would only trust one person to safely load his wealth into Earthrealm. Not for nothing would he accept him as a citizen otherwise."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Now Cassie waved her hands. "What is this crap with Earthrealm?"  
Jin just stared at her with a withering look, as if she hadn't got enough general knowledge. Idiot.  
"The safest place in the world, unlimited for gold and money. With the best security that even the Emperor of the outside world claims?" She opened her mouth for a suggestion. "Not Fort Knox." Was Jins first answer. Offended she closed her mouth again. All eyes followed his over to a map. Jacqui and Cassie had hung them up then, as a plan for their holiday, which had long been a thing of the past. And a pin stuck in the joints of a big city in the Nevada area.  
"Las Vegas." The soldier whispered in disbelief. "Black is on his way to Vegas?"  
"He's already there." Improved Kung Jin. "Las Vegas itself doesn't interest him. But the safest place ..."

"The Bellagio. But of course!" Mileena hissed out of nowhere. There was something triumphant about her face. "I knew this boy is smart!"  
"A ... casino?" Cassie didn't seem to understand the world anymore.  
"You know what that means Cass?" Jacqui smirked.  
She grinned. "Our Vegas vacation is saved!" Her friend frowned, but couldn't resist a sarcastic laugh. "Of course I was thinking about vacation, just not that we're finding Erron Black, in the rare and vague hope he knows something about the legend of a monster named Leatherface." The Tarkatan snorted. "I think that's what this pinhead has figured out."

And yet Cassie couldn't help but shaking her head. "A fucking casino. You all have your asses open."  
But she pulled herself together and straightened to full height. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" She looked around expectantly in the round. Jacqui got up first and put a pin on the card. "It will not be as easy as it looks, Cass. From Texas to Nevada?" She studied her missing face. "You won't be able to smuggle yourself into an airplane, they will unmask you immediately!"  
She gritted her teeth thoughtfully. "I know, but what about your car?"  
"Hum, we'll need at least two days to get there, maybe three." Jacqui said thoughtfully. "But something else won't be left to us, I have to agree with you this one time."

She let the knuckles crack. "How am I supposed to teach this to my dad?"  
"Let me worry about that!" The monk intervened. "You know, I can be amazingly convincing." He patted her on the shoulder. "I'm thinking of something to get you out of Jax's firing line for a few days."  
She nodded determinedly. The plan was crazy, absurd, confusing, full of abusive data and background information, and of course a fucking casino, …but it was always better than no plan. "Then we'll leave early tomorrow morning."

 **Thank you again for patience and understanding for the belated update after that long time. Especially I would like to thank IHATEOCSTORIESBECAUSETHEYSUCK for the kind words and nice PMs in the last months. I hope you'll see through soon where I want to lead this story. It was a very crazy idea to actually put in a casino (maybe too much Oceans Eleven is to blame) but I wanted to put back into the story the (more or less meaningful) mentioned vacation of our best friends (in chapter 1). How it goes on? Stay tuned and experience it! Best regards, from MasterFran 3**


	25. Chapter 25

**Dear friends and readers. MasterFran is back with chapter 25 of my story "The Lostface". We reach the penultimate chapter before Cassie plunges into the next big adventure with the help of her friends. However, this bonus chapter will be dedicated to a special young man from her team: Kung Jin, who unfortunately (spoiler!) will only get smaller supporting roles in later chapters. The last evening on the farm of the Briggs family comes to an end ... And darkness led two restless tramps into a very interesting conversation...**

The night broke in earlier than planned and for the first time it was a bit frosty. The girls repressed as much as possible that Earthrealms year was already at the end of October. From time to time the crystal clear stars flashed through the thick black cloud cover, sending tiny sparks over the last cornfields, still growing on the lands of family Briggs. Only the Shaolin monk hadn't found peace yet. With a robe of deer fur, he protected himself against the swift cold of the autumn night and watched from a distance down from a hill as Jacqui and Cassie, in sweatpants and thick jackets, climbed through a hidden shaft behind the barn and were swallowed by the darkness. They have to plan everything down to the last detail, he knew that.

Nothing was allowed to go wrong in the next 73 hours. And Kung Jin had studied them all, and if Erron Black wasn't the man to give them useful hints and possibly a significant discovery, even he didn't know what to do then.

The relief that his dead-believed teammate and friend returned made him still pause. Of course, he wasn't always in agreement with Cassie, but they were both too stubborn. But with the fall of Shinnok, the release of this rare and mysterious green aura, she had become a legend and undisputed leader. It frustrated him, after all, he had been trained not only by the Shaolin but also personally by Raiden, an elder god, but the qualities of a leader are probably deep out of one.  
After her disappearance a few weeks ago, he was named the new team leader after Blake wanted to secure the continuation of the team. This man showed no remorse for the demise of the young Cage. She may have been a young talent, but after being mentally unstable, the soldier was useless, the money was too scarce and other people even endangered by her unexpected paranoid conditions and Takeda had barely escaped death at this madness.

As she stood before him again, she seemed like a substitute, her dirty attitude, the fighting spirit, the glow in her eyes, her… Animality. That's what shocked him the most. How the hell had she done it? No one in more than a quarter of a century had mastered it, so it was mentioned only in the ancient scriptures in the monastery library. He had been busy researching backgrounds, maybe even learning it himself, but maybe that was what set him apart from Cassie Cage. That which helped to bring her back to life and to develop unimagined abilities. A strong self-esteem.

A faint crackle made his right ear prick up. Carefully, he turned his head to one side and stared intently into the darkness. It rustled again and not even thirty yards away he saw a figure sneaking through the undergrowth, with quick tripping motions, something metallic flashing in the moonlight, then a brief, surprised squeak and silence again.  
He watched with complete fascination as the Tarkatan woman grabbed the captured body with her sharp teeth and disappeared back into the darkness of the trees. With slight annoyance he pursued her track until he broke through the scrub on a clearing on the bank of the reservoir. And there she sat in front of him, not even twenty yards away now. Mileena had settled in the dry grass, rocking the carcass of a huge brown rat between her hands, before bending the monstrous jaws and slicing her teeth into the rodent's flesh.

With a smacking sound, she yanked a good piece of backbone, muscles, and tendons out of the animal and hauled it down frantically without chewing as her blood ran down her chin.  
"I would be careful with the rats here if I were you. Here's another rabies-endangered area." He called as casually as possible behind her back.  
She flinched in alarm and spun around, with a bloody mouth and the Sais in an attacking position. Her yellow eyes illuminated in the darkness. He quickly raised his hands while his heart jumped for a moment. "Hey, easy there! It's just me."

"Junior Shaolin." She said absurdly, lowering her weapons slightly. His pulse calmed down again. "I'm… hm… sorry if I disturbed you." He mumbled misplaced. Mileena put her head to one side. Her Sai swords had now been put back to the ground next to her. "The question is rather. Why did you have to bother me?"  
"Phew. Well, yes. "He scratched the back of his head. "I thought ..." _Damn_. That was the only thing he actually thought. His hand gripped the coat, which he always wore in two layers. Quickly he got rid of the upper layer and threw the deer skin to Mileena, who caught it with raised eyebrows. He grinned. "Thought you might be cold."

Jin blew into the cool night and his breath floated away as a cloud of steam. She was still looking at him for a moment of consideration, but finally her eyes relaxed. "Well played, child." She cuddled her upper body under the deerskin and sighed with relief. "That's nice and warm." He had to refrain from a chuckle. Just as she was snuggling her head into the fur, she had something of a baby cat.  
"You are probably used to other temperatures." He smiled. Her head shot up again attentively. "We don't know any seasons in Outworld." She sneezes. "Not even dry or rainy seasons. It is absurd for you to hear, but in fact our climate always changes with the respective ruler."

"That's why the sun is shining there every day ..." He was about to draw parallels with her and Kotal Kahn's government, but decided not to provoke her with it. Mileena didn't show his displeasure, much to his relief. Maybe she was annoyed by herself.  
He casually put his hands in his shoulder bags and tried to locate the lake in the darkness. "Then you were really lucky to have caught the short heat drops for your trip home." A thin smile played around her lips, and yet she snorted a little mocked. "Cassie is back where she belongs. I've never been welcome in Earthrealm, young Shaolin." Before he could open his mouth to protest, she added softly but with a piercing undertone. "You don't have to prove the opposite to me. We both know what was going on under my tyranny these fifteen years." Then she quieted again and silently turned to the remaining skeleton of the consumed rat and spooned the small milky eyes out of the caves and stuck them like olives in her throat. Did she really call herself a tyrant?

He sat down next to her in the grass a meter away, he didn't want to offend her. "Don't you miss your home?" He asked very carefully. "Outworld. The palace …"She turned her head back to him and eyed him suspiciously, but also thoughtfully.  
"You cannot say I don't." she grumbled. For a moment she was silent, then the words burst out of her. "I mean, do you know this feeling, to know where you come from, but then simply not at home because you will be despised by all so that you can finally don't know if it was ever a home to you?" She babbled excitedly.

He grinned. "I was a rough guy. Street child. Thief. Believe me, I know exactly what you are talking about. Maybe our stories have neither the same beginning nor the end. But I understand you completely. But let me guess. Raiden has brought you to your senses, right?"  
She winced. "How do you know that?" She asked sharply.  
"There is no talk of knowledge. It's too obvious for that." He scratched his forehead lazily. "He did the same for me. Since then I know where my home is. My home is my friends, my clan, my brothers the monks. My family. You carry your home within your heart." He sighed, it sounded almost a bit relieved. "That's how I found my way back, away from street and crime and have actually achieved something in my life."

Mileena studied his face hard. "But it's not enough for you, isn't it?" He opened his mouth to protest, but didn't find the words. The Tarkatan smiled tightly. "You don't have to lie to me, Kung Jin." She sighed her voice. "It's too obvious for that." The boy seemed to be pretty frustrated about that. "I never want to be any better or the leader. Ok, of course I want, but it has another reason. I just… hate standing in the shadow of others! You wouldn't understand that." He murmured dejectedly. "You as a former empress."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her inconspicuously masked figure rise to full height and stride loftily toward him. "Sure, I don't understand it. I, as clone of the most powerful Tarkatan of Outworld and the heir to the throne of the former empire of Edenia. Created as the only worthy successor to the mightiest ruler of Kombat history. But even I must face it: I'm nothing but only a mixed copy with mental issues." She forced a tormented laugh. "I believe, darling, you are not the only one who is struggling with inferiority complexes tonight."  
Not only did he looked at her, he _looked up_ at her for the first time. "You can stand on two legs, breathe. You can think more logically than many others, are able to empathize with others, understand others like nobody else. Your shooting skills are worthy of the greatest warriors. You are something special, my boy." Despite the cold air, he suddenly felt unusually warm.

"So stop thinking about what you've never achieved before, but about what you've made unique in your life." Two of her fingers touched his sternum. "That, which is in your heart and guides you."

 _They care only of what is in your heart, not whom your heart desires._

"Thanks," he muttered. She raised an eyebrow in question. "For what?"  
"Your words. Never guessed to hear such wise phrases from you." The corners of her mouth twitched slightly upward. "Every time, kid."  
There was a moment of silence between the two, each trying to focus on something else. Mileena slapped the shabby, bony remains of her consumed rat into the lake with a loud splash. Shortly thereafter, the carcass was packed by countless snapping fishmouths and pulled under water. When Jin couldn't stand it any longer, he just blurted out his question, which had been occupying him for so long.

"Who decides which animal will become your Animality?" Mileena's head jerked upwards as if she had been woken up.  
"You don't just turn into an animal. It is your inner animal that comes to life outward. Not for nothing only very few master this martial art. But how you interpret your animality, unfortunately, everyone has to find out for themselves."  
He folded his hands nervously. "Then why did you receive a skunk as Animality?" To his surprise came a very taciturn "I have, admittedly, never really thought about it. Why I'm just a skunk ..." The words seemed to make them very thoughtful. "Nobody can even stand a skunk." Kung Jin tried to get the words right.  
"There we have it. See? Nobody can really stand you." He had hit a very sore spot. "How dare you?!" she snorted angrily. He laughed. "There we have it. I feel confirmed! You see a skunk, you are immediately disgusted with it and it is pissed off of you."

"Pff." She grumbled insulted. He patted her encouragingly on the shoulder. "Understand. By that I mean less that you ... well ... are "special nature"." He shook his head slightly. "No. It's our mistake how we handle it." Silence. "I believe that you have not only proved to me but to all: Let's go with fewer prejudices on things that are foreign to our nature and we are often surprised by the contrary." Jin stuck his head in her direction and whispered secretly into her right Ear. "Just between us. I once raised an orphaned skunk, a short time before I joined the Wu Shi Academy. Hiro was the bravest and most loving creature I have ever met at that time. He had received my courage and willpower in difficult days. Same how you helped Cassie." Mileena's eyes gleamed in fascination. "I never dared to think so about myself. At least not like that." Her teeth reflected the moonlight.  
"You are an extraordinary young man, Kung Jin. You forge words of silver, have a heart of gold, and a soul that is purer than your own past. I'll be watching with pride when your own Animality shows up one day."

"You think I'll make it?" She smiled. "When your time is right, I have no doubt about it, little Shaolin!" Together they gazed across the proud lake and despite the cool, silent night, Kung Jin's heart was pounding in his chest.  
When he got up this morning everything was as usual. Until Jacqui's message reached him, a message he would never have believed possible. And without Mileena it would certainly not have been possible at all. Jin shook his head over this day and his first real meeting with her, the fearsome, former Empress of Outworld. Expelled, rebellious and finally struck down by the Kahn and D'Vorah. Could he still have guessed that one day she would return full-size and far beyond? Probably not even himself. And yet he had to admit one thing. A better mentor and trusted friend, Cassie could not have found.

 **I thank everyone again for reading and of course I look forward to some new reviews! I try, as soon as possible to continue the story again, in the actual plot. But this few times, I wanted to take a little step behind the scenes and express unexplored thoughts, fears and feelings of these great characters (that was fun!) See you soon!  
**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hello folks, MasterFran is back again. The break after the last chapter was far too long for my taste, but I just didn't manage to complete the next chapter sooner. I apologize for that and hope you forgive me the wait. For that I will finally publish chapter 26 of the story today. We will finally embark on the next journey in search of origins. But I won't tell you more! Have fun!**

It was exactly 3:30 a.m. when the alarm clock rang relentlessly. Cassie's eyes ached painfully from fatigue as she tried, with a haphazard clap, to turn off the monster. After an eternity, her hand finally found the switch, which instantly allowed peace to enter the room. Already in that moment, her eyelids twitched mercilessly downwards and she had to pinch herself in the stomach, not to fall asleep again.

Exhausted, she straightened her body, trying hard to locate Mileena's outlines in the darkness of the room. But she could see neither her body nor hear her usual growling snore. So she wasn't here, perhaps probably never been after she has returned only a few hours ago of their planning work in the basement. Her fingers clutched the folder again, containing all the documents for her trip. This concept of what they had laboriously put into place would even help them to survive in the future. She quickly got dressed and left the shed to look for her.

The cold surprised her even worse in the morning. Disgusted by the 1000 pinpricks that seemed to pierce her skinless areas, Cassie pushed her scarf up to just below her eyes and pulled her headband over her eyebrows. She didn't dare to call for Mileena. It was part of her deal with Jacqui to get out of the yard before Jax knew about it, and that left them with just over an hour to spare. The less noise she made, the better.  
Still, a faint rattle caught her attention, not far from the shed. It came from the tractor barn. She hurried through the darkness and peered carefully through the half-opened wooden gate. Cassie had been hoping for Mileena's return, but it was Jacqui who screwed in the faint glow of an oil lantern in the engine compartment of one of her many SUVs and cursed under her breath.

"You could have woken me!" She yawned loudly and strolled over to her. Jacqui glanced up at her and laughed. "Please, look at you." She gave her a kick with her hip. "You have had enough stress over the last few days. Give yourself a little rest."  
She just shook her head slightly, suspiciously examining the battered jeep. "And that thing is supposed to rock us to Nevada?" Jacqui looked almost outraged. "That may be a JK from 2007! But he is still reliable. Besides, we don't want to glow like a pack of colorful dogs." She slammed the bonnet. "By the way, Dad will hardly miss this one in his garage. Better for us." She was smart, her friend, Cassie had to admit.

"The car is ready to go. I have enough money for refueling. You can share things to change with me." Her gaze rested on the crumpled things that belonged to her mother, whom Cassie had taken from the island. "We'll pack our lunches in the trunk." In addition to the most important plans, they had spent the other half of the night piling up food from the pantry. Mainly canned food such as ravioli, chocolate bars, gummy bears and lots of chips and crackers. It was not nutritious, but perfectly adequate for less than a week.  
She had piled her bags in the backseat, including two simple handguns and lots of painkillers for an emergency. Cassie helped her friend carry the heavy box of provisions. "Only this heavy colossus and we are ready to go." Gasped Jacqui with beads of sweat on her forehead. "And, by the way: Where did Mileena go?"

So she hadn't seen her too. "She wasn't here the whole night." Cassie just said. Her friend shook her head and grabbed the trunk door with one hand. "This is, again, typical Outworlder." She scolded. "I swear, if she doesn't show up in time then ..." She never finished her sentence. Because at that moment, she opened the door where the first dead rat fell at her feet. Jacqui roared and dropped the box to the ground. "Yuck, that's mangy!" She shouted hysterically. Cassie clenched her teeth, afraid that she might now wake up half the farm with her insults, but fortunately she was just about to pull herself together. She swallowed and stared blankly into the half-open trunk, where a good three dozen dead rats piled up and gave off a pungent odor. "That's the most disgusting thing I've ever seen."

Disgusted she kicked the dead animal with her shoe in a high arc of it outside the lamp cone. The rodent was swallowed by two flashing rows of teeth in the dark. Jacqui narrowed her eyes in annoyance, hissing Mileena's name, in whose throat the rat had just disappeared. "Where the hell have you been?!" she snapped. Cassie punched her in the ribs. "Calm down, JB!" She hissed through clenched teeth. Jacqui glared at her. "I'm not going to calm down now!" She quipped. "There's a bunch of dead rats in my trunk. And I want to know who that was!"

Mileena casually sipped the rat's tail like a spaghetti and hitched a bit. "These are my rats, which I had painstakingly captured tonight. I had them piled up there as a supply." Jacqui looked like she was about to vomit. "That's absolutely disgusting! You don't seriously believe that I drive these stinking carcasses through half the States?"  
The Tarkatan snorted in annoyance and eyed a rifle with pickled cheese ravioli. "Do you think I'm eating something of that bullshit? Or shall I nibble on your belly fat instead?" Her pupils had narrowed to small slits. "I'm a damn carnivore! What else would you feed me with for the next few days?"

"All right, fine." She hissed. "I got it." Cassie raised her voice somewhat sheepishly. "Do I remember correctly that you also eat beef?" She nodded curtly. "Bovine? Edible for me." She looked at her friend now. She seemed to understand what was going on in her head. "You seriously think I'll just give out our expensive Angus meat?" She said with a sarcastic undertone.  
"Is there anything else left? We are running out of time and discussing packed lunches. If we get started with these problems, we can go to bed right now." Cassie replied impatiently.  
Mileena, meanwhile, tore a leather bag from her belt and tossed it to Jacqui. "I got it, too." She growled. "How much do you need?"

Fifteen minutes later, they had disposed of the remaining rats out of the trunk. Respectively, Mileena had eaten them all. In addition to the large food box, which would share the two girls, another bag was deposited with a total of 45 kg of beef steaks and leg slices. Jacqui repeatedly shook her head and finally slammed the door. "How can you eat that much and still look like a supermodel?" Mileena chuckled. "Should that be a compliment?" Jacqui stared dumbly at her. "If you don't count your head, then yes." Her triumphant expression collapsed. "Busted." Cassie whispered, suppressing a laugh. She looked relieved at the car. They were finally done with the preparations. Now they could start.

Jacqui seemed to think so too. "We all fit in the front. I drive, Cassie, you go to the passenger seat next to me, Mileena, your seat is at the window." She clarified. Playfully, Cassie put on a disappointed face. "Why is she allowed to go to the window and not me?" She gave her a slap. "No kidding now, you kidhead. Get in!"Cassie slid forward to her assigned seat and patted the seat next to her. Mileena looked uncomfortable as she mistrustfully climbed into the vehicle and lay down on the seat next to Cassie. She sighed. "You've never driven a car, right?"  
She almost shook her head in embarrassment. "Of course I had blown up a few and gutted the inmates in the fight against Earthrealm ..."  
"Thanks, enough!" She said loud and cutting. "Then it's better now, you sit back, relax and enjoy your view."

"What a view, Cass?" Jacqui mumbled and closed the driver's door. "It's black outside and before it gets light, we're already on the highway. Romantic asphalt everywhere." She showed her only the middle finger. "Don't always ruin everything, JB-Idiot." She just laughed. "I'm just right, but you never admit that."  
Energetically she turned the key over. To her great relief, the engine jumped without complaining and chugged contentedly. Jacqui nodded satisfactorily. "I tell you, you can always count on a good JK." She would regret that sentence later, Cassie thought silently, not at all convinced of the car. But it was better than walking, always.

Her friend put in the gear and accelerated gently out of the barn. Luckily the engine wasn't too loud. Their chances, without attracting the attention of the other farm dwellers were very good. There was only one person who didn't miss an adventure again. In the cone of the headlamps, you could see his outlines in the darkness as he cowered on the edge of a road. Jacqui stopped beside the hooded man and rolled down her window. "What are you still doing here? And especially in this cold?" She whispered to him. "I just wanted to wish you good luck." Kung Jin replied in a subdued voice. "Be careful. And if you find Black, do not upset him if you seek answers." He rubbed his hands together. "I won't guarantee if he knows anything about the legends of that time. But it's a chance you have to use."

She nodded. "And you, take care of my dad!" She sharpened. "I rely on you to keep silent about this matter!" He took his hand at heart level. "Word of honor, as I am a Shaolin." He oathed. "See you in a few days, big one!" She closed her window and was about to drive on, as Jin suddenly stood in front of the car.  
"Wait a minute." He called from outside and hurried to the other side. Cassie quickly lowered her disk and looked out of the car at the young monk. "Yes, Jin?" He exhaled and patted her on the shoulder with his left hand. "I am glad that our team is finally complete again." She smiled gratefully. "And I'm glad to finally be with you again." Her fists touched amicably. "Thank you, Jin! For everything!" He smiled and nodded.

"Let's move out, soldiers! Buckle up, heads into the vehicle!" Jacqui chimed in between. Cassie pulled her head back into the car and her friend let the engine roar briefly before the three of them raced across the grounds. The tires crunched loudly as they passed the entrance gate to the farm and shot at the gravel road leading to the forest road, into the unknown.  
Cassie's search for Leatherface would finally begin. Thanks to her friends, she now had a sensible plan. More or less. And this led the three of them directly to the magic city of Las Vegas!

 **I sincerely thank you again for reading and of course I am pleased about your reviews or new favs and followers who are already burning to learn how the story goes on. I am trying to hurry with the update. However, it may take a little longer because of my relocation because I finally go to a university to study biology. But I'm doing my best in the world. See you soon!**


	27. Chapter 27

**The time has come! MasterFran strikes again. After my fringe story Dr. Kombat has received its long-deserved update, it is finally over after a long time: The Lostface is back. It was supposed to have an update on Halloween, but I was delayed too much by studying for the university and having surgery. But I didn't give up the story. I wish you much fun!**

Cold rain drummed on the roof of the car, on the windows and made the view difficult for Jacqui. "Damn lousy weather." She cursed. "That's not how I would have imagined my holidays." Cassie turned the levers on the dashboard to keep the ventilation going. "Then you can be happy that it's not a holiday." she mumbled.  
She wasn't amused. "No stupid jokes now, Cage." She muttered. "I'm tired and my ass hurts a lot." Cassie raised an eyebrow. "Then let me drive, for god's sake. Wouldn't be as if I had already offered you the last five hours." In response, Jacqui headed as fast as possible to the next parking lot. You couldn't blame her for it. It was just before 5 o'clock in the evening.

The sun slowly sank behind the gloomy thunderclouds and her friend took the wheel for nearly 7 hours; since her departure from the farm. The exhausting driving was already noticeable and yet they were still several 100 miles from their destination and time was short. As soon as she had turned off the engine, Jacqui jumped from her seat and ran in a rush to the tiny toilet house. Cassie slid cautiously from her seat to the driver's seat. Somewhat uncomfortable, her hands touched the steering wheel. From the last time she drove a vehicle she still had a painful memory.

But this time she didn't plan to take her life with full speed. She closed her eyes and shook herself briefly to shake off the confused thoughts. "Keep your mission in mind and don't let anything distract you." She reminded herself. A scary growl made her head jerk aside. There, she sat in the second passenger seat, motionless for many hours, snoring like an oiled Harley.

The great excitement of Mileena peering through the window like a schoolchild to experience as much as possible of her first car ride had vanished long ago. Since they had left San Antonio, she slept blissfully with her head in the crook of the arm against the window. Cassie admitted to it, even though she was often plagued by fatigue attacks. There would be more serious hours, which would demand a lot from her.

Jacqui seemed a bit perplexed, as she looked at the deep-sleeping lump and laboriously squeezed on the seat without waking it next to Mileena. Disgusted, she covered her nose. "Urgh, her breath smells like our carcass ton." She scolded quietly. "I really wonder how you've endured all those days." Cassie shrugged as she started the engine again. "Believe me, you get used to it." A movement in Jacqui's lap caught her attention. "What do you have there?" She asked curiously, because she couldn't tell what it was going to be.

"The communication system for the predator next to me." She muttered as she carefully bent a piece of wire that looked like a little headband. Uncertain, she reached out her hand. "How big is her skull?" She snorted. "Anatomically or mentally?"  
"Good question. Exceptionally anatomical. The mental horizon isn't much higher." Cassie grinned. "Ok, now we are a bit mean. She's pretty stupid sometimes, but if she hadn't been, I wouldn't be behind this wheel now." She glanced at the tiny components. "The size should fit, J-B." she said curtly.

For the next hour they were silent most of the time. Even the best friends sometimes had little to say. As darkness came, Jacqui finally dozed off. And though she had been constantly complaining about her neighbor's bad breathe, she had naturally slumped on Mileena's lap and was dreaming. With a slightly glassy look, Cassie kept her eyes on the road as the highway continued to fill and more and more drivers got in her way. When a black Mercedes almost crashed into her fender, she struck the horn angrily. At the same moment Mileena's head shot up in alarm. "Is this an attack?!"

"No, you idiot." She hissed back. "And don't wake up Jacqui." Confused, she stared at her lap where Jacqui had buried her head and a saliva thread dangling from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes turned back to the window and suddenly grew big. "These are a lot of cars."  
Cassie chuckled, because she just sounded like a small child. "It could be a lot worse, but the amount of incompetent people is enough for me. We have a good buffer, but our schedule isn't infinite either." Completely fascinated, her companion kept on watching the flashing lights in front of her nose. "And where are we now?"

"Somewhere between Fort Stockton and Van Horn." She murmured and yawned. "And where exactly is that supposed to be?" She pursued impertinently. Cassie sighed annoyed. "If you can do anything but eat and sleep, you would know it for sure." Mileena pouted insulted. Her fingers found the kit in the glove box. "What is that?"  
Cassie gently pushed her hand along with the box back into storage. "Jacqui's gift for you. You'll see it soon enough when we get there."

The drive went on haltingly and Cassie tormented the old Wrangler over the asphalt. Meanwhile, Mileena got bored again and started playing randomly with all the ventilation switches. Alternately, the soldier got icy air to her feet and hot air in the face. When she almost broke off the temperature control, she gave it up. "Can you bother yourself in another way?" Cassie asked humbly. "I don't know." Came back the bad-tempered answer. Suddenly she had an idea. "Look in the compartment under your seat." Mileena did as she was told and pulled out 6 CD cases from the drawer. She studied the CDs with growing fascination. "What's this?"

Man, these questions. "CDs? Well, you pick one and put it in the slot above the radio. There crappy music in the radio anyway." The Tarkatan excitedly phrased a CD from the case that had the original inscription "Dump Work Sucks- Remix by Jacqui and Cassie" and she squeezed it clumsily into the slot provided for it. It wasn't long before the jeep was filled with the voices of Black Eyed Peas. "Uh, I like the sound!" Mileena was pleased and her face brightened up instantly. "I gotta feeling ..." Amused, Cassie bobbed her head in the rhythm of the music. "That tonights gonna be a good night." She nudged her neighbor's elbow. "Come on, let's sing along! That tonights gonna be a good night …"

"That tonights gonna be a GOOD NIGHT!" Cassie released the steering wheel to hold both hands to her ears as the screeching sound produced by Mileena's vocal cords almost knocked her eardrum to pieces. And even Jacqui roused it from sleep. Frantically, she looked around. "Is someone dying here?" Mileena growled again threateningly. Her friend ignored it and looked with tired eyes on the street, where the road narrows again. "Where are we now?" She asked. Cassie squinted at the map cut she'd placed next to the gearshift lever. "Just before El Paso. Maybe 8 more miles." Jacqui looked very tense now. "Good that you woke me up." She whispered. "I'll take over again. Where is the nearest parking lot?"

"1.5 miles. But it's all good, JB. I'm still fit." She shook her head. "That's not what it is about. We are very close to the border with Mexico. They control more often here in this area. They shouldn't find either you or a presumed dead genetic experiment!" She swallowed. "What should we do in case?" Her eyes lit up. "You control your animality! Hiding behind the back seat. If we're actually controlled, then you're safe there!" Cassie sighed and headed for the driveway of the nearest lot. They would just be unnecessarily upset and waste time.

And she was wrong, as she noticed only 20 minutes later. "Name?" - "Jacqueline Briggs." - "Your driver's license?" - "Here." - "Your goal?" - "Nevada."  
"Shall I tear his throat out?" Mileena whispered, her eyes blazing. Cassie gave her a blow with the left paw. "No, shut up now!" She hissed back as quietly as possible. Now, even before their actual goal, the mission threatened to burst if the police didn't immediately turn around. Already she was claustrophobic in the narrow space under the seat, even if he had to share it with a sharp-toothed skunk. Now only her friend could defuse the situation as soon as possible. "Ah, specialist Briggs!" Greeted the unknown guard in a friendlier tone. "I'm sorry, but that's just a brief routine check against illegal entry. But everything seems to be alright here."

"Yes, I'm glad about that, too." She heard her casual voice, but she didn't miss the nervousness behind it. "There is something wrong." A second voice, much less friendly, intervened. "There's a strong smell of decay here!" Cassie's heart began to beat with fear. Mileena struggled. "I'll show it to him!" Cassie pounded her paw on her head again and pushed her snout into the biscuit crumbs on the floor under the seat. With one eye she peeked out from under the seat. Were they noticed? Would they control the car after all?

She saw how the older of the two guards staring at her friend before he said. "I don't know what you did in here. But I urge you to brush your dog's teeth. That you can drive with such a bad breath at all." To Cassie's great relief he pushed the vehicle papers back into her hand. "I wish you a good trip, miss!"

The ground below her began to vibrate as Jacqui relaunched the engine and drove off. Carefully, she leaned on her hind legs, put her paws on the glass and peered out. "Are we safe now?" Her friend turned her head and grinned. "We are rid of them. Back to your place, kitty-cat." Cassie gave a peculiar chuckle. "Who do you call a kitty?" She elegantly balanced on four paws over the back of her seat. "I'm human, just like you."

"But you have power in you! Beat Shinnok with a mighty green aura and now you're going to fight your fate with your Animality!" She stopped abruptly when she saw Cassie's gray eyes darken. "Sorry, Cass." She apologized quickly. The cougar shrugged his whiskers. "Well, it's the reason we're here at all, isn't it?" She mumbled. She had to face this fact. As much as she enjoyed the trip with her friends, she mustn't forget that this wasn't a vacation. It was her dangerous mission in search for the truth. "Speaking of pets. Where is our dog-breath?"

"I don't know where she ... ouch!" Cassie cried and pulled out her long tail. At the end dangling like a black and white burdock. "Mileena!" She hissed. "Do you always have to bite me?" Mileena was almost disappointed when she let go of her tail and plopped down next to her on the seat, where she threw out a ball of golden brown hair. Cassie glared at her. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not edible?"

Her mentor grimaced. "Your blood still tastes so ... sweet." Her expression darkened again. "And if you call me dog-breath again, then my teeth will find the direct way to your throats!" Cassie rolled her eyes as she transformed back. "And, how many times do you still intend to threaten us? Ouch, my butt!" She moaned as she tried to sit down. "Thank you, I won't be able to sit for the next few days."

Jacqui joined in the conversation now. "You're get a time-out now, crazy woman." She gave Mileena a dangerous sideways glance. "Or do you want me to torn your other ear too?" She bares her teeth menacingly. Before the situation escalated during the ride, Cassie raised her hands. "Guys, it's ok. Can we first fulfill our task and then tear each other's guts out?"

There was a brief silence between them before Jacqui let air whistle through her teeth. "If the deal is that I can drive in peace for the next 740 miles?" Cassie grinned. "I can replace you in between." Mileena, who again seemed pious like a lamb, agreed with her. "Shall I drive too?"

"NO!" The two friends shouted from one mouth. "There are already enough deaths from traffic accidents and you don't need to increase this scale unnecessarily!"

They left Texas and fought their way through Arizona to Nevada. Shortly before the border, the engine struck for the first time, but they got the problem under control again. But it took a whopping 12 hours, as Jacqui shook violently on the shoulder of her best friend, who slept with her head on the knees. "Cass, wake up! Now!" She blinked and opened one eye, staring through the window.

Nothing seemed changed. A long street, many cars. She was about to close her eyes again when her friend poked her in the shoulder. Annoyed, she straightened up. "Damn, I'm tired and ... oh my god!" Her nagging stopped immediately when she saw a sign to the left of the road. And it was not any sign. In large red and blue letters was one of the most famous lettering in the world: WELCOME to the fabulous LAS VEGAS, NEVADA.

"I almost didn't believe in this moment anymore." she murmured, beaming at her friend. She grinned back. "Welcome to the Mission-Vacation, Cass." Cassie reached out with her elbow and hit him in Mileena's groin. The effect was inevitable. The sleeping Tarkatan spat and whirled in horror. "Damn, why?" She whimpered. "Are all against me today? You savage." Jacqui and Cassie laughed uproariously. "I'm sorry." Cassie chuckled, wiping some tears in her eyes. "I don't know how I get you awake otherwise."

"Hm." She muttered, tucking her thighs together as a precaution. "Now look out. We reached Las Vegas!" She turned her head to all sides and stared through the window as Jacqui drove on towards the city center. She didn't seem satisfied. "That's supposed to be Las Vegas? The city you rave about all the time?" She snorted. "Earthrealmers have no idea about architecture."

"And I thought you visited Las Vegas more often. At your ... other times." Jacqui interjected. Mileena looked at her feet. "We had a direct portal to our vaults. I had nothing more to do with Earthrealm." Jacqui gave Cassie a questioning look, but she just shrugged. "Wouldn't it be more interesting to know where we have to go?" The soldier interjected. Jacqui reached into the drawer over her head and threw Cassie the big folder they'd put together during the final night. "Look at it. From the entrance sign it would still be about 3.5 miles. Tell me where to drive."

"Quick, turn left. W. Russel Rd!" Jacqui obeyed her command and headed for the turning lane, hesitating for a moment. "Aren't we faster if we stay on Las Vegas Boulevard?" "Oh trust me, J-B. As you know, there is always traffic jam. We'll take the shortcut." She quickly flunked. They left the street and drove on. "Right now to the right. Beltway." Jacqui made a disbelieving face. "You want to be kidding me. No 10 Shinnoks can get me into THIS traffic jam!" Heartily Cassie grabbed her into the wheel and pulled the vehicle to the right. "Paws away!" Her friend snapped. But it was already too late. They were in the biggest traffic jam in the early afternoon. Jacqui punched the steering wheel in frustration. "Oh come on! That's wasn't a shortcut, you asshole!" She put on an innocent smile. "Oops."

"Damn it. Move, you bastards!" Jacqui yelled at the other drivers. "Fuck, that's not funny, Cass. After all, you're not driving through this shit. You screwed me in!" Cassie couldn't help her chuckle. "Look at the bright side. We have enough time to see the sights and Mileena pays your fuel costs." Next to her, Mileena almost choked on her shred of flesh, which she had just torn from one of the last steaks. "Hey, that wasn't part of the deal!" She coughed.

"Oh my God! There's Mandalay Place!" Cassie squealed, pressing her nose against the glass. Jacqui's mood seemed to turn at this sight, finally, for good again. "Wouldn't that be great for a short shopping trip?" She enthused. Mileena's interest also aroused. "Is this a fashion palace for you?" She marveled. "Can we get in there?" She begged.

Jacqui sighed sadly. "Would we have more comfortable circumstances, among which we would be here ... Yes, it's alright, you stupid scum back!" A Porsche honked her suddenly aggressively from behind. "I'm soloing here!" They left the shopping center behind. Fortunately, the rest of the way was not less interesting. "What is that?" Mileena now stuck again like a five-year-old child at her window. Cassie studied her folder with sights. "Incredible. The Excalibur Hotel & Casino! I'd like a wild rollercoaster ride now." "Come on Cass." her friend hummed. "I wish we could. But our calendar is fully booked." Disappointed, she turned her gaze back to the street before an idea penetrated her head. "Quick, go to the right and keep going to the streets in the direction of Tropicana Avenue!"

Anxious, Jacqui sought a way out of the bad traffic chaos. "If you think. The main thing I'm down from this hell street." She found a quick way through the parking lot of the Excalibur. "But woe it's one of your brilliant shortcuts again!" She warned. "Don't worry, Briggs. It's going to be fun." Jacqui coughed. "For you maybe." Finally they reached the avenue until Cassie gave the order to turn again, to the left. This time, Jacqui was obviously entranced. "The Fake- Lady Liberty!"

"Fake?" Mileena sat with her mouth half open, a piece of meat still stuck between her teeth. "Our real Lady Liberty isn't here. This is just a replica." Jacqui explained. "Because of the New York-New York Hotel!" Cassie added dutifully and beaming. "One of the best hotels in the world." "And so many shops." Mileena purred as they continued along the strip. Cassie lovingly punched her arm. "The city isn't as bad as you expected, huh?" She licked her teeth. "It would almost be worth a conquest."

Her eyes suddenly moved over Cassie's head. "Briggs, there it is!" Jacqui jerked her head when she was approached. "What is where?" Mileena turned her head to the left with her index finger. "Bellagio!" Cassie's heart slipped when she actually saw it with her own eyes. The Bellagio Drive. The pool for the water games. And behind it, like a golden castle, was the mighty casino. They were really there. Jacqui looked awed too. "The goal of our assassination tomorrow." She swallowed. "That's right." "Where the adventure awaits." Added Mileena. The three of them looked at this significant place for a brief moment while driving, when Jacqui suddenly slowed down. "Our stay should come soon, Cass!" Cassie hastily searched the street signs.

"There!" She called. A slightly hidden side street opened between the tall buildings. "And now right! Yes, it is the road!" Jacqui strained to examine the row of houses and mumbled numbers to herself. Then, suddenly, she hit the brakes sharply and stopped her jeep. Nobody said a word except the specialist. "Ladies, we have reached our destination."

 **I would like to sincerely thank MKDemigodZ-Warrior, Gumi Langley and especially Julio71971, who gave me support and strength to continue the story. To all who had hoped for more action: The big adventure is yet to come! Chapters 29, 30 and 31 are expected to be the first major showdown on Cassie's quest to find the roots of Leatherface. I have been working on the next chapters in parallel and have already completed chapter 28 in half. So I'm trying to get the next update as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and hope for a nice review and new Fav & Follower! Until next time! MasterFran :) **


	28. Chapter 28

**MasterFran is back with a chapter that's out of my ratio. I struggled for a long time whether to split the chapter in half or not, but decided to put that chapter behind me so we could get to the thrilling topics of the story more quickly.** **Therefore, this chapter is not uninteresting.** **Cassie's last night without worries, before the hardest mission of her life will challenge her. I thank all readers for reaching over 10,000 views and hope that there will be more, you are the best. I wish you much fun!**

The room was not the most luxurious hangover in Vegas. Rather the complete opposite. The bleak furnishings and curtains in an indiscriminate mix of grays and greens recalled a 70s style.  
There was a double bed with a bedside table, a weathered wardrobe with its doors half torn out, a faded armchair and, for some unknown reason, a fan in the corner. Summer has long been history. Only the bathroom seemed reasonably good for female use. Nevertheless, Mileena didn't seem very enthusiastic. "And you call this a hotel in Earthrealm? Pah." She snorted. Jacqui shrugged. "First, it was cheap, second, near the Bellagio, and third, it's not conspicuous." She frowned seriously. "If I may remember you, you two have no business here, if you no what I mean. The less attention we attract, the better."

When they arrived, the front door was already open. The only thing to be found by the owner was a note on the elevator: _I'm on my way, room 42, 8th floor. If you're not Briggs, just ignore it!  
_ Cassie and Mileena were able to sneak into the room unnoticed.

Cassie skillfully ignored the two's argument. She threw her bag aside and dropped back onto the bed with a sigh. Despite her lean physique, she almost sank to the floor with the mattress. Jacqui did so and slumped down beside her, what made the bed crash again. Only Mileena shuffled over to the chair and threw herself across the back, where she gazed resigned at the wallpaper. Her friend tapped her shoulder twice exhausted. "We did it." She grinned. Cassie also tried to smile. "Our first leg yes. But the worst is yet to come, J-B." She yawned.

"I know, Cass, I know. Let's just sleep a few hours. Then we discuss our next steps." Shortly afterwards she dozed off. Cassie couldn't blame her. Her legs were also stressed by the long composing in the car. A soothing wave of fatigue enveloped her as well. And though this bed was actually too uncomfortable, her eyes closed and she lost herself in her sleep.

Cassie dreamed badly. Ever since her first night on Shang Tsung Island, she has been able to shake off her terrible nightmares, which had hunted her each night anew. She didn't like it. This dream was different. She was surrounded by green waves that kept her falling, no matter how many times she tried to get up. Then she saw herself. Strangely consumed, her face filled with fear. But when she tried to touch her body, she disappeared, her mouth wide open, in a deep black hole of darkness. And she fell in with it, deeper and deeper and deeper, while the world flickered irregularly and alternately black and white. And without any warning followed a single shot that turned everything around her blood red...

Cassie suddenly opened her eyes and turned on her stomach. She noticed her heart beating irregularly against her breastbone. That wasn't one of those murderous nightmares of those days after her disfigurement. But it seemed to convey a message she didn't yet understand. Breathing quietly, she turned her head to one side. Jacqui's hair shimmered slightly silvery in the light of the big city blazing in through the window. She was still sleeping.

Her eyes remained fixed on the window. It wasn't closed anymore but opened. Carefully she padded over and peered out into the darkness. Even here in the backyard you could hear the noise of the street. And the lakes of lights of this city, which never went out. Her eyes wandered up where a rusting metal ladder led up to the top.  
Carefully, she put her hands and feet on the rungs and climbed upstairs. When she reached the roof and for the first time glanced over it, she gasped in horror. "Oh my god." She whispered.

No star in the world shone as bright as this ocean of thousands of lights and colours before her eyes. Now she saw it for the first time and in real life. Las Vegas at night. And her view went straight to the Bellagio, illuminated by powerful headlights. This city immediately enchanted her with her splendor. In her euphoria she almost missed the shadow on the edge of the roof. Mileena didn't react at the first moment when Cassie sat next to her and looked down at the city.

"Did you ever think that some parts of Earthrealm could be that beautiful?" She teased her friends. She didn't look at her. Her gaze continued to cling to the casino and the glittering surface of the water. "I underestimated it more than I would admit. This is a whole new level." She sighed sadly. "So many times I have already moved through the portal. But I never dared to risk a look from the outside. 15 long and short years at the same time." Cassie had long struggled with herself, but now she couldn't help but ask that question. "How is it that a portal exists between Outworld and the underground of an Earthrealm casino? And why don't we just use it? It would be much faster and less risky than the way we planned it."

She gritted her teeth, as always, when a topic was uncomfortable. But Mileena finally overcame herself. "It all started before I became Empress of Outworld, and Shao Kahn was still ruling. The resistance of Earthrealm was growing critical in those days, and the funds were being used up too quickly if it was still stored for everyone available in Shao Kahn's secret dungeons. But one day an unknown man came to our palace. He said he was from Earthrealm but had no relation to Raiden's army. He vowed to provide his services and intentions to the fidelity of Shao Kahn. He offered one of the safest places in the world. In a city called Las Vegas, in a casino that was to become the safest bank for us. Shao Kahn finally agreed after some thought.

Once a month he would send a large portion of our money to Earthrealm and he would ensure that the transport and safety of these treasures would be paid in return for a small payment for himself. With Shang Tsung's help, Shao Kahn set up his own portal, between the dungeons and the security terminals of Bellagio. When he died, I became the Emperor's successor, and with him the contract he made with our mercenary. His name was Kobra." Cassie looked puzzled. The name sounded familiar to her, but she didn't know exactly where she was from. But Mileena was not done with her story yet.

"He did a very faithful service to me, for an Earthrealmer. Until there was an uprising that ended with me being locked up in the dungeons for almost 5 years and Koa'tal taking the throne. As I learned only a few months later, he had kept Kobra as his personal finance minister. For a while he brought me the scant food rations that I had while rotting with a muzzle and bound hands in my cell. I use these rare moments for a, let's say small, fidelity test. As it turned out after only a few times, all his money was more important to him than the vow of allegiance to the Emperor. It should have annoyed me, but in him I saw the only chance to escape my prison. When I offered him a considerable sum, if he would free me from my situation, he agreed.

Not 48 hours later, the rebels, led by Tanya, stormed the high-security dungeon. I was very weak, but I kept my agreement. It took guts and several attempts, but eventually I managed to re-visit and use my father's portal and procured the millions for Kobra he took on my deal. That night, when I handed him the money, he suggested another deal. In return for another payment, he would help me and bring money to finance the rebellion. It was a dirty business, but he was smart enough to take money and gold out of Koa'tal's cash without his suspecting." She laughed a little too hysterically.

"He never guessed that I was stealing his own people back on my side. But it was never enough for me. And when Kobra brought me the news that a friend of his, Kano, would sell me the amulet of Shinnok for a certain amount, I went too far." Her claw-like fingernails scratched the concrete. "I was too ambitious and decided to access the portal the very next night. Kobra seemed stunned by the idea. Kotal would have already become suspicious of him and it was only a matter of time before he came behind our raids. I didn't heed his warnings.

Instead, I promised him an even bigger sum of money. And I would personally accompany him as a bodyguard, even if it was risky. Tanya and Rain positioned themselves in the immediate vicinity of the portal to collect the gold as quickly as possible and then disappear if we ran into trouble. I was extremely impatient and greedy for the amulet. Despite all the warnings, I struck together with him. And when I stood in front of this massive mountains of gold coins, I lost all control." Her eyes gleamed as if the sheen of that gold was still reflected in them. "I made more and more money through the portal, ignoring any caution. And then they caught us.

Just as Kobra and I stormed to the portal with another sack of gold, we ran more or less into Kotal and another companion, who turned out to be Erron Black.  
"Traitor." He had snarled. He probably meant it both to us, and yet at that moment it seemed more like Kobra. "I trusted you. And so you go behind your Emperor? Luckily, Black warned me about you. You're nothing more than a disgusting jackal!" He headed for us with his sword raised and an ugly 2 versus 2 Kombat came amidst the streets of Las Vegas. As a result, while I had my hands full with Kotal, Black managed to subdue Kobra and killed him.

He shot his lower jaw out of his joints with two bullets and, with the final hit, chased the entire brain out of his head and let it splash on the wall behind it. Thanks to Tanya, who came to the rescue, I managed to escape from the portal and out of the palace.

I had the necessary gold but the price was high. I lost my mercenary, my opportunity to kill Koa'tal, the access to the portal and so to financial resources. Rain scouted the palace a few times, and was certain to bring me the message that the old portal was finally destroyed and replaced with a new one, inaccessible to all of us.

Kobra was dead and Erron Black from that day on the new mercenary and guardian of the royal treasuries. So that's it." She was silent, staring down at her hands with expressionless eyes.

Cassie was impressed. Both from her cruel past, as well as her overcoming to tell about it. "Did you know back then that this Kobra-guy was a member of the Black Dragon?" Now she remembered where she knew the name from. She had only read it once, on a nearly unknown list of known assassins of the Black Dragon Clan her mother kept in her office. Mileena turned her head to her, and there was displeasure in her expression.

"Yes. When it was already too late. The moment Kano laid his cards open on the table as a traitor and sold our location to D'Vorah and the Special Forces, I learned from Rain that the two of them were working together. We were all about one thing only: power and money. The individual fates are worthless against it. Such is war." She sighed a little powerless. "Afterwards you know better. However, it doesn't change the fact that if you want to find Black in time, we need to get into the Bellagio's security terminal by other ways. I'm sorry, kid." Bathed in self-pity, she sank her head on her knees.

Cassie slid closer to her and shyly patted her back. "Don't pity yourself. After all, you've taught me to learn from the past. This chapter is over. Now a new one begins. We'll pull this thing through tomorrow. All together." She lifted her head and managed the touch of a grateful smile.  
At that moment, a blast sounded. Both turned their heads perplexed forward, where at that moment the water was shining in bright gold and blue, and several hundred fountains rose into the black sky. "The fountains of Bellagio!" Cassie shouted. „We haven't missed them yet!"

It was gigantic, enchanting and, in any case, more incredible to see it with my own eyes than in any video recording. Cassie was thrilled with the view, but Mileena seemed completely speechless. She never looked away, didn't even blink. She seemed to be completely occupied by this dance of water and light.  
"Where was I? All my life plunged into my black soul to forget what this world offers you."

Cassie didn't know the answer as she winked at the dancing water columns. Would she have known that would be waiting for her? Only a few weeks ago she would have put an end to her life without batting an eyelid. And she was still alive. She was stronger. She was more insightful. _What changes the fact that I am disfigured from now on?_ She thought. _I can still enjoy my life. I have friends whom I can trust. Who accept me how I am now. What would I almost have thrown away_?

"Damn, here you are!" They spun around to see Jacqui's face peek out from behind the ladder. She was still out of breath. "I've been looking for you all the time!" Cassie had to resist a laugh. "We have never been away. Just got an upgrade." Her friend rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Cage." She straightened up and looked with pure fascination on the nocturnal life under her in the city. "But you got a good position for a nocturnal chat. I always wanted to look at it that way." She plopped down in her pajamas next to Cassie on the edge of the roof. A cold breeze made her shiver slightly. "Too bad you missed the exciting stuff, J-B." Mileena looked out from behind her back. "Do you mean the water or the bullets?" She would find no answer to any question tonight.

Jacqui had now arbitrarily appointed as the general of their small troop. Actually, she wanted it only to comply with the timetable. "Shower for everyone! 5 minutes max. Then we get ready!" She commanded sternly.  
"Goodness, let's get it, ma'am." Cassie crunshed as she squeezed into the bathroom in the shower cubicle. Washing the sore face was still an uncomfortable procedure and in only 5 minutes was a crappy challenge. Jacqui was next, then only Mileena was left. "I'll give you another 5 minutes on top of that, if you're doing a mouthwash." Her best friend told her as pushed her into the bathroom.

Cassie was standing by the bed, wrapped in a towel, rummaging through her travel bag. "You're just a bit cheeky, notice that?" Jacqui appeared at the corner, also with wet hair and only wrapped in a towel. "Do you think I'm going to rival you?" Cassie couldn't reciprocate her smile. She looked anxiously at the young woman's body, the deep scars on her neck and shoulders. Her agonizing remnants of the night, which hadn't spared her friends too. Jacqui noticed the way Cassie focus on her with her eyes and sigh. "It can be different, Cass."

She sat down on the edge of the bed, studying the scars and wounds that forever marked the young soldier's body and face. She shook her head vigorously as she spread the contents of the bag on the blanket.  
"I haven't taken everything here to back down now." She said firmly. "We have only one chance today, and we will use it."

Jacqui looked up at her with a trace of compassion. "I admire your determination, but do not ..." An angry scream came from the bathroom. The next moment, Mileena opened the door and crashed into the wall beyond, where she wriggled for air in the shower curtain. Her skin was stained with red and steamed like a coal stove. "These showers are more dangerous than me!" She gasped, completely taken by surprise. "That can only be funny." Jacqui muttered and shook her head.  
Cassie turned her gaze back to the mountain of clothes as an outfit stopped her.  
She looked at the black blazer in amazement. "That's my undercover costume. Can I really wear this?" Jacqui nudged her encouragingly. "Sure you can! Otherwise I wouldn't have taken it for you!"

It felt unfamiliar on her skin. She had hardly worn this costume so far, as the missions that were intended for it never came about. All the more she was grateful to Jacqui for this idea. No one would recognize her in this outfit, not even her mother.  
Her friend studied her attentively as Cassie nervously moved up and down in the clothes in the bathroom. "What do you think?" She asked a bit queasy. Jacqui, however, nodded benevolently. "It looks perfect on you. You should wear it more often. The style suits you." She laughed dryly. "But then it's not an undercover costume anymore, you hero."

"Are you arguing? Do not think now ... oh." Mileena slid around the corner, still wrapped in a shower curtain, and her eyes went wide. "What's up?" Cassie snapped. She felt naked when so many pairs of eyes were watching her. Mileena still scanned her like a fax machine. "Nothing. Cute outfit." She pulled on her sleeves. "Just hope they won't get any blood on me tonight." The black-haired woman giggled. "Suits you too." Jacqui gave her a warning look. "Or what else is the meaning of this Halloween?" Mileena grumbled. "Could somebody enlighten me sometime?"

"We're not going out today to celebrate Halloween." She muttered. "We have a job to do here. And our camouflage mustn't be too conspicuous." She grabbed Mileena by the shoulders and pushed her into the next room. "Get ready, too. We do not have much time left."  
"For what? I thought I was just your pet." She protested. "No discussion. Leave!" Said Jacqui annoyed. She reminded one of a female cyborg, but without excessive ammunition. "I've always wanted to try my cyber costume on Halloween." She had fretted. _And you call that unobtrusive_ , Cassie thought silently.

Finally the time has come. Almost at least. Mileena sat on the bed in her Animality form, shaking her long, fluffy coat. She sniffed and examined the metal box in front of her with much interest. Jacqui gave Cassie a quick look and she nodded affirmatively. Her friend stepped forward and knelt down in front of the skunk on the edge of the bed.  
"All right, Mileena. Now pay attention and don't forget what I will explain to you now." She opened the box and her mentor finally got to see the auspicious content. Cassie had a tremendous respect for Jacqui's mechatronic and electronic work.

She was the born specialist in the development and deployment of combat, information and communication systems. What she brought out of the box now resembled a much too small headband but no. It was a self-made headset. In Skunk-Head size. How she got it, Cassie didn't know. She just had the better sensitivity for things like that.  
"That's your own headset. I customized it to the size of your Animality form." She turned it to Mileena's muzzle. "It is already equipped with a mouthpiece and hearing aid and a specially developed tracking transmitter. We have compatible devices to track you down anytime in the building when you're out of sight. "

The terminals consisted of two watches for each of the girls. Disguised from the outside as an ordinary wristwatch with two hands, but who knew about it, understood the meaning of the red dot, which pranced on a gray ring in the immediate vicinity of the clock center.  
"That's you. The gray rings and clock numbers symbolize the distance between us. The position of the dial is like a compass. That way we can get to you immediately when you track down Black." Her small ears twitched.

"That is the plan. Just before we enter the casino we set you free. Over the cable lines and ventilation shafts you will sneak over into the security areas.  
Once you find our cowboy, you can play with this one." She pulled a weapon from her waistband and squeezed it between her paws. "Man, that's cute." Cassie was also impressed by the tiny pistol, a Taurus Curve that even fit between the tiny paws of a skunk.

"This is not an ordinary firearm. It has only three ammunition. Three directional transmitters, like the one in your headband. I developed it a few months ago. If you have found Erron Black, you must try to shoot one of these microchips under his skin. They are very filigree, so he will not notice." She raised her finger admonishingly. "But remember, you only have three tries. So you better don't miss." Mileena nodded vigorously. "Well then. Once you've planted the transmitter, we can locate Black's location on our devices. We will somehow make a way to him and moor him. We just cannot be seen there. That's your job again." She gently ran a finger over the tiny headset. "You have to find the technical room after that. And put the video cameras out of action. At least until we could talk to Black. Then we disappear the way we came in and no one will ever know we were there at all."

She looked a bit skeptical as she rocked the weapon in her hands. "And this plan works?" Cassie unlocked her handgun and put it in a holder under her suit. "It sounds crazy, but let's try it. If Jin is right and Black is actually that old, then we won't miss the chance. It can also go backwards, that is not excluded. But he's my last hope he actual knows at least something about Leatherface. Otherwise I can still jump in the Pit."

"Cassie!" Jacqui exclaimed in horror. "Don't say that!" Cassie's eyes sparkled. "I will say what I want. Well, are there any questions left or are we ready?" The other two looked at each other uncertainly. Finally, Jacqui grabbed her coat. "Let us try it. Today or never!"  
So they finally left the room and the house. When they arrived just before the boulevard, Cassie stopped and looked around quickly.

She dropped to her knees and reached for the skunk. "You know the plan? As soon as I give the signal you will be our eye in the sky. But watch out for the cameras!" Determined, her little claws clung to her arm. "You can count on me." She nodded.  
Cassie believed her. She was small, nimble and unobtrusive, like a shadow but a wrong action and this shadow becomes a killer. "Does your headset work?" She nodded. "Sits and works perfectly. I could get used to the agent job."  
Jacqui lowered her visor and shouldered the bag. Her cervical vertebra crackled loudly as she bent her head to all sides. "Let's go girls. We have to hunt down a Cowboy tonight."

Cassie sent a small thanks to heaven that she wasn't suffering from an animal hair allergy. Since animals in a casino were of course strictly prohibited, she was forced to hide Mileena somehow under her shirt and that was just a lot of fur. Only her muzzle peeked out from under her shirt. Closing her jacket tighter around her chest, she prayed she wouldn't be notice among all those people. To her relief, the visitors took little notice of her and Jacqui as they entered the main entrance of Bellagio. Even on Halloween, when most of them came dressed up, one of Mileena's masks covered her lower part of the face and tied a headband around her forehead. The recognition should be reduced by a multiple.

Carefully she pulled at Jacquis sleeve. "Left is the hotel lobby. Straight ahead the casino." Jacqui stopped and looked around. They were now directly under the ornate glass flowers that stretched across the ceiling of the lobby. "And what is it?"  
"How am I supposed to drop Mileena here without people getting scared." She bit her lip. "I imagined it too easy."

"Sh. Guys!" A small paw pushed out from under the jacket. "Hey, my bra is talking to me!" Quickly, Cassie turned away from the crowd and opened her jacket a crack, where a few yellow eyes flashed out. "Do you see the glass flowers over you?" She rolled her eyes. "We can hardly overlook them." The skunk twitched its ears. "They are illuminated. Where there's a light, there's a cable and a cable goes into a shaft somewhere." Jacqui eyed her with increasing recognition. "Clever fellow."

"So," Mileena continued. "If no one is looking, then drop me by the horse." Her claw pointed to a mirrored horse statue standing in the middle of the lobby. "I'll do the rest on my own." Cassie nodded and closed the jacket over her again. "We will try. Wait for my sign until the opportunity is there."  
Grumpy Jacqui looked around among the large crowd of visitors and hotel guests. "That could take a while, until nobody is here anymore."  
 _Come on,_ Cassie thought. _Just turn around for a moment, so I can drop some of my ballast._

The elder gods seemed to praise her desire. Loud cheers boomed from the corridor as a Halloween entertainment group made a big move through the building and towards the casino. Around them, visitors took their smartphones and recorded the event on pictures and videos. All the attention of the room was turned to the one big Halloween show. And that was her chance.

"Again we won't get such a chance." Jacqui growled softly. "Now!"  
Cassie pulled on her coat and hissed. "Now Mileena!"  
A huge mountain of fur crept up her chest and she felt the tiny claws on her neck. The weight left her shoulders as Mileena jumped on the back of the golden horse, glancing around at all sides and then climbing his neck and head. Casually, Cassie eyed the situation and prayed that no one would turn to them now. The little beast leaped up with stretched hind legs into the sea of glass flowers and managed to clasp one with her teeth. She had quickly rose up and the bushy tail disappeared between all the colourful lights.

For a fraction of a second her shadow was visible on the red carpet, the next moment it disappeared and the point of the tracking device on her watch also distanced itself. Cassie looked at Jacqui and she nodded.

The skunk was in the house. This party really started now.

 **Yes, the party is now in full swing. 2 soldiers and a skunk looking for the Outworld-Cowboy. Will the young team be able to capture Erron Black at this casino? Will they learn anything from him if they ever find him? Stay tuned, leave me a review, I'm happy about favs &follows and wish you a good week. Bye for now!**


	29. Chapter 29

**It's over. Maybe not the year, but the miserable waiting time for the next chapter. Everything is offered here again. Julio71971: You can let off steam here. I thought of almost everything. To everyone else: it's getting more exciting again and don't worry, I haven't forgotten what this story is about. But the view stats escalate in such a way that I try to bring the updates now more regularly. But now I wish you a lot of fun with chapter 29. And never forget. Viva Las Vegas!**

The skunk was in the house. The first plan was put into action.  
"Next plan, Cage?" Jacqui asked. She took a deep breath, in and out. "Looking around the casino for possible entries until our spy found and shot the fugly."  
"Then let's go." Reluctantly, yet with excitement, they entered the casino. It was better than described on any website. Pompous. More noble.

Cassie and Jacqui plodded through the great hall and scanned all the gaming tables without saying a word. In front of a small bar Jacqui nudged her friend in the stomach. "Ok, I know it's silly and we are soldiers. But, if you don't mind, since you are boss of Operation Black, I thought ..."

Cassie narrowed her eyes. "Do we have some fun, as we had it as a little girl always on Halloween." She completed the sentence amused. "We can meaningfully use our waiting time in this way."  
"Meaningful?" Snarled the specialist. "We only get rid of money. But I want to have some fun before the situation gets serious. I go play some pinball, how about you?"  
"I don't know yet. But you don't have to wait for me." She pointed to one of the free pinball machines. "I'll contact you if there're any news." She slapped her friend, who immediately joined her favorite game machine and dropped a coin.

Cassie wandered a few meters, heading for the roulette tables, gazing at the buzzing balls from a distance. Something amusing would certainly do her mind well, but the Black-thing gave her no real peace.

"Hey, young lady!" An elderly man in a tight-fitting dracula costume waved her over. Curious, Cassie turned to him. He smiled friendly. "You look a little sad. How about? Play a game with us!" He handed the soldier 10 chips and winked. "I take the first coins. Just don't go out all at once, except today is your lucky day!"

 _My lucky day,_ she thought sullenly. That will turn out later. But well, you shouldn't refuse gifts. The count, who introduced himself as Phil, made her a seat at the roulette table and promptly gave her a glass of finest champagne. "Viva your lucky day!" He toasted.  
 _You either have no hobbies or you expect a little too much from me_ , she thought silently. But he wasn't finished yet.

"First thought you were one of the employees." He said, eyeing her outfit. "You have a good taste in terms of Halloween. I belong there rather to the old school. But you've really thought something. Not too stuffy, not too flashy."  
"Exactly." Cassie muttered. "Not too flashy." Meaningful she kneaded the chips between her fingers. "Place your bets!" said the man at the other end of the tables.  
 _Red as blood or black as death? I still managed to escape both,_ she thought. _But if I would have to vote, then I prefer to keep my blood._ _  
_Without thinking, she threw her chips on the red field. The lender raised an eyebrow. "And you're sure of your case?" He asked. She shrugged. "We call it instinct behavior."

"Your bets are over!" It said clearly. Tense moments passed as the white ball started rolling. With feverish expectation, Cassie saw her thrown three times, then came to a halt with a faint click in one of the compartments.  
"23, red!" She closed her eyes and exhaled. Was this luck a good sign or should it make her feel foolish?  
Without a word, she pulled in her winnings and got ready for the next round. The motivated Dracula named Phil poured a good barrage of champagne into her glass. "Very well done!" He praised. "The next round I go with you!"  
As Jacqui used to say, you are either crazy or stupid. But she just sipped her bubbly and put her complete bet on the green 00 without thinking about it.

"Are you insane?" said the older man. "Why exactly green 00?" Actually, she wanted to say: Because I'm already lower than the two time zero level and still stand here. At the last moment she replied with a playful grin. "Green is supposed to bring good luck, so why not now and today?" He patted her on the shoulder. "20% of my profit is there if you are right. Otherwise I want my little donation back."

There was no time to correct the bets. The ball was already circling in the shell. Cassie lifted her glass and took a little big sip.  
At the moment she felt a little dizzy from the alcohol. Her eyes wandered around the room looking for Jacqui. She found the young African American woman in her cyber outfit, just a few yards away, at a pinball machine. There were some spectators standing there, from mummies to skeletons and ... her stomach suddenly turned uncomfortably when one of the observers turned to her for a fraction of a second. The costume wasn't that special, but his face was so... bloody and tattered. Her hands were sweaty on the wooden edge of the table and her breathing quickened.

She quickly closed her eyes and tried to relax. That's not real, she told herself. It is a normal person who hides under this mask. On the other hand, she was the complete opposite...

Someone grabbed her by the shoulder and Cassie whirled, agitated. But instead of the disfigured face there was only a shocked pensioner who pointed to the board with his finger without saying a word. The marble had come to a halt. The number was: 00.

"Come on, that's not possible." Cassie groaned loudly. And yet she had this impossible fortune to escape a relapse. The bystanders applauded. "That was the best roulette round I was able to experience tonight." The game master mumbled and gave away her prize. "Are you ready for a round three?"

She shook her head. "They say that all good things come in threes, but the best Kombat is finished after two rounds."  
Phil raised his champagne glass. "Then take care, young lady. Five thousand dollars for you if you give me your chips in return. You will not get a better deal today! And I keep this little round going."  
"Deal." She said immediately. She shoved the chips over to his pile and got a rolled bundle in her hand, followed by a hearty pat on the back.  
"It was a pleasure, young lady. Then continue to make that evening uncertain! Good luck, young soldier."

She was almost sorry to leave the group, because the guy was very nice and obliging. But in this life, he would probably never know her true identity.

A few yards away was a small bar. Cassie sat down on one of the stools and ordered a Mountain Dew and a Coke. The bartender pushed two ice-cold cans out to her. She gave her some coins, only then opened the can with the sweet and sour liquid and took a few deep breaths. How many hours have passed? One? Two? They hadn't achieved much yet. Although her budget was now $ 5,000 richer, there was no sign of the main price of this day: Black.

 _Crazy_ , she thought as she swallowed a long swig of the icy Mountain Dew. How three women wanted to have fun in different ways that evening, to catch an texan Outworlder.  
She remembered when she had last seen Erron Black. It was the day before the assassination attempt was committed.  
"May the elder gods praise you or tear you to shreds, Erron Black, if you really should know something about my tormentor, Gunslinger." She murmured to herself.  
Jacqui was still playing on the same pinball machine. There were probably 8 people now cheering on her game. Cassie would gladly go to her, but this dubious figure with the bloody face was still with her. Just the sight made her feel goose bumps. So she clamped in her chair, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did.

Why did it take so long? Cassie had lost track of time, but the worry that they were already too late grew bigger every second. And the fear that the mission Erron Black was doomed to fail became more and more likely.

But then all of a sudden there was a rush in her left ear. She had almost forgotten the invisible device on her head. With two fingers she pressed the switch on her hidden headset. "What's going on?" She whispered. For a brief moment, the reaction was delayed, but then it hit her eardrum at full volume. And it was not Jacqui who spoke to her, but the inconspicuous third team member. "I got him!"  
Mileena growled.

Her heart made a jump. At last it was time. "Where is he?" She asked quickly. "Silly, I just spotted him but didn't shoot yet." She turned around. "Then you have to hurry now. Jacqui!" At her call, her friend turned her head. Strongly gesturing, Cassie gave her to understand that she was needed.

She refused to walk over to her, but she trusted that Jacqui now exactly knew what to do. She could follow the conversation of the two without dropping.  
"Mileena, this is Jacqui. We don't have much time, so listen carefully to what I'm telling you! First you have to unlock the Taurus Curve. Before the trigger is a small metal pin. Pull this back, then the piston is loaded." With the right arm Jacqui pulled on the pole of the pinball and carried the ball with a bang in the case. Mileena's voice was heard again. "Ok. I unlocked it."

"OK. Now it gets serious. Try to aim at him. Use your paws to pull the trigger and put a shot under his skin. We only have three tries." She fiercely punched the buttons on the sides of the pinball with her thumbs to hold the ball on the board.  
"First Shot fires in three, two, one ..." At the end of the countdown a ghostly silence followed at the other end of the line.

"Did you hit him?" She stared at the clock face, holding her breath, trying to feel a movement, but nothing happened.  
Mileena's voice in her ear only released the tension for a short time. "Negative. I missed him. "  
Her back was sweaty in an unpleasant way. Also on Jacquis forehead a bead of perspiration was noticeable.  
"Try again!" More tense seconds passed. For a moment, Cassie stared dumbly at the clock on her wrist. And suddenly a second point joined the radar, only to be distinguished by a hair's breadth from the other.  
"Jackpot!" Jacqui triumphed at the same moment and sank the ball in the Black Hole. The audience applauded. They would never know the true cause of triumph.

"Good, I've had enough." She called to her admirers. "Who wants to carry on?" Excited her people crowded around the pinball machine and Cyber-Jacqui quickly squeezed off the stool and hurried over to Cassie. "Damn." She grabbed her shoulders exhausted. "I thought I would never get out of here." The two friends hurried to a quieter corner of the casino, in close proximity to the Le Cirque. Cassie glanced at the clock several times, but to her relief there were still two points on the radar to locate.

"Mileena, are you listening to me?" Her friend hissed into the headset.  
"Sure." It came back soberly. She cleared her throat. "Good job, girlfriend. Well, we'll get in touch as soon as possible. But first you have to get into the control room and disable the cameras. Temporarily. "  
"I'll call you when I'm in."  
"That's Good. I will give you further instructions on how you put the system out of action. See you soon." Jacqui took her finger off his ear and tried it with an optimistic grin. "It's going better than I expected. The little plush toy has some skills."

Cassie handed her the soda can. "Here, that calms your nerves."  
"Oh, they're fine." she replied, but plunged the contents down her throat in one go. "Let's go a little further. I'm not optimistic yet that the next step will be quick."  
"We have Black. That's almost more than I expected today. Hopefully nothing will go wrong now." Cassie muttered. "But look what I won at roulette." She held out her bundle of 5,000 dollars to her friend. "Show-off, bitch."

"Come on, let's see which way we'll have to go later!" Like a compass, they followed the trail that led them to the Bobby's room. The point moved along the axis and approached the inner sectors, up to about 100 meters.  
"Now it gets complicated." Jacqui muttered, pointing to the wall in front of them. "Our wanted person is sitting somewhere behind these wallpapers."

What it meant to get behind the wall, they knew. Even if the Bellagio was unlikely to compare with the SF, the safety precautions against unwanted guests were enormous. For a layman it was impossible to get in there.  
But Cassie had her joker circling like an eagle over them and hidden from the backdrop at this moment.

The location point that marked her on the display came to a standstill at about 10 o'clock.  
"Cassie? Jacqui? "At last her voice was heard again.  
"We hear you!" Jacqui answered.  
"Well then. I'm right over the security terminal and planning to go down now."  
"Be careful." Cassie murmured, nervously clenching her fists. Jacqui took over the instructions again. "Describe what you see."

"Many, many screens." She whispered. "Hey, look. I see you!" They turned their heads up and looked right into one of the surveillance cameras. „That's so weird!"  
"Do you see the power switch box somewhere?" Her friend hissed. "A large distribution cabinet with many cables?"  
"It's right under me." Replied the small agent.  
"Very well. Will you approach him without getting caught?" She heard the strained breathing of the Takatan woman as she ventured to descend the shaft.  
"I'm down. Nobody sees me here. But it's a glass door in front of it."  
"Try to unlock it with your claw. They are not very stable most of the time." Jacqui asked. It took a few seconds for Mileena to announce that she had cracked the lock.  
"Very good." Jacqui muttered. "Now search for leads bearing an inscription like video, cam or surveillance."

"Got it. 423 to 436. "She whispered.  
"OK. Now you have to hurry, turn off the network and then seek cover again immediately. Turn all switches over and unplug the cable that connects each fuse. If necessary, bite through, if there is no other way. Go on, now!"  
They ended the connection at short notice and eyed the camera on the ceiling as inconspicuously as possible. And then it disappeared, the red signal lamp. The lens froze.

"Camera systems are all down!" Mileena hissed. "No more transmission on the screens!"  
Cassie's pulse was racing with excitement. "Excellent job, Lenny. Keep an eye on the staff, they'll all find out soon!"  
Jacqui moved with her a few yards farther out of reach of her previous position and arranged her thoughts. "There is no guarantee how long the cameras will let us disappear from the scene. So we have to hurry now to get into the employee zones."  
"Let's find out where the next locked entrances are. We need staff for that." Cassie clarified.

"We'll hang on to these guys!" With the Coke can in her hand, she unobtrusively pointed to two men in personal attire, who made their tour a few meters further.  
Cassie pushed her drink aside. "Then nice and slow, J-B." But when they were just about to spy on the two, they stopped suddenly. One of them spoke intently to his handheld radio. Then he tapped his comrade and walked away with quick steps. Cassie and Jacqui both looked at each other and followed the men in silent agreement. Even if they couldn't overhear the conversation, they were sure: it was because of them.

A female voice in her ear confirmed the theory. "I think I get company. They noticed they went offline."  
"We just hung at the heels of two guard. I strongly suspect they are on their way to the security terminal." Cassie replied. "We take care of this. Hurry up, get yourself out of harm's way. But stay reachable. Cage out!"

The men moved swiftly toward one of the locked doors. Cassie saw one of them pull out a key card and unlock the security door.  
"That's our only way in there!" Growled the soldier. "But without this key card we won't get far!"  
"Pah." Boasted Jacqui. "Who needs that stupid card? I'll do it my way." Without warning, she reached into her friend's jacket pocket and pulled out the bundle of money.  
"What the hell are you doing?" She hissed in horror. Outraged she had to watch as her friend simply dropped all of it on the floor.

"Trust me." She clattered and pointed conspiratorially to the door, where the two employees were just disappearing. When it began to fall back on its hook, the specialist took her foot wide and kicked the roll of bucks under her stunned exclamation.  
The bills made an ugly sound as they came under the heavy frame of the door and wedged it briefly before it could close.  
Satisfied, Jacqui patted her hands. "That's what I call a sensible investment."

"Sensible investment? Those were 5000 bucks, asshole." she whispered in disgust. Jacqui secured to all sides. "You'll get it back in no time, your family is rich anyway."  
"If I ever see them again ..." She pushed after her friend. When she was sure that they were unobserved, she gave her a sign. Jacqui pushed open the door and Cassie also hurried through the gap. They were inside. But not at the finish. She pressed herself close to the nearest wall and spied into the corridor. It was empty.

"We're close." Jacqui muttered. "So close."  
She was right. While Mileena still had to be near the terminal, the point that revealed the location of Erron Black came closer to them.  
"Plot Twist. In the end, she shot an even worse cosplayer! "Cassie joked with a chuckle. The unnecessary joke, however, missed its effect when a vague voice murmur sounded. "Control the entire corridors! The failure of our systems has happened internally, I'm sure!" Several pairs of feet could be heard, which came quickly closer to the young invaders.

"Damn." Cassie's eyes widened. "What now?" Her friend grabbed her arm and pulled her to one of the doors in the corridor. It was fortunately unlocked.  
"Quick, in here!" Skin to skin, they pressed through the gap in the dark room and quickly slammed the door behind him. The friends listened intently. The babble of voices passed them and left again. Relieved, Jacqui leaned her forehead against the door.  
"That was close. We would be dead if they caught us out there. Cassie?" Her eyes glanced anxiously at her friend, whose hooded face was barely lit by the glow of the clock display. "What's going on?"

"That's weird." Jacqui now stared at her own watch with growing nervousness. The point had now moved exactly to 0.0 in the center. Then, without a warning, he disappeared from the radar.  
"Where the hell is he now?"  
She stared at the clock. "I don't understand. He should be right ..." She didn't finish the question. Because without the slightest whiff she suddenly felt the cold metal on her head and heard the unmistakable click of a revolver's Hammer Strut.

 **I vowed to myself a week ago that this year I will finish with a total of 30 published chapters. Cross my fingers the last few hours that I can do it and this year won't end with a cliffhanger. For the worse: I wish you all a good start to the year 2019! I thank you for everything! MasterFran**


	30. Chapter 30

**Happy New Year 2019 to all! Even if the quick update didn't come immediately, I still had a relaxing January 1st and can finally deliver you the 30th chapter today. It's shorter than its predecessors, but I hope you find it interesting!**

Tense seconds passed. But nothing happened. Not yet. Cassie had not expected a shot immediately. Not from him. He would first down them and then carry them with a headshot to the afterlife.  
She had pressed her left cheek against the door, the revolver on her right temple. In the twilight she could barely make out the second outstretched hand, holding a second firearm, pressed directly against her best friend's head.

Jacqui stared at her with glassy eyes, unable to speak. Presumably it was their sudden appearance that they weren't dead yet.  
They hadn't found their wanted cowboy. He did it first. His smoky voice broke the silence of the room.

"Cage and Briggs! I've got you under the most unusual circumstances, but intercepting you here is bordering on a new level of your stupidity."  
"What a surprise to see you here, Erron." Cassie said in a cool tone, trying to suppress her fear.  
Surely her heart vibrated through the floor.  
Jacqui reacted far less calmly. "How do you know it's us?"  
He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Do you think I'm so stupid that I do not recognize you through this costumes?" He still held the guns on their heads. He nodded towards the dark room. "Go on, move! And I don't mean a wrong move. Or you drop in one shot!"

They followed his instructions silently and stepped away from the door. The man moved around her like a shadow and activated a light switch with which he suddenly lit the whole room.  
Astonished, Cassie looked around. They had landed in a kind of storage room with nothing more than a mess of dusty boxes and folders.  
And he stood before them. Exactly how Cassie remembered him. And yet the secret of his age was like a revelation. But first she had to motivate him to talk without moving into a death zone.

"Don't think that your weekly absence changes anything in the current situation." he said coldly. "It may have shocked Kotal Kahn when he learned of your death, but this won't give you a bonus. And if you think you can crawl back now to ..."  
"I don't crawl before anyone, you ass!" She snapped at him. Jacqui just stared at her in horror.  
"Shut up, Cage! Are you totally crazy ?! Don't make him mad!"  
She paused momentarily again when Black was pointing his gun between Jacqui eyes on the forehead.

"Oh, I'm not mad at all. Well, then give me a reason why I shouldn't kill her or especially you, sergeant." he grumbled.  
She bit angrily on the teeth. "I wanted to ask you that too. Why do you always want to kill us?"  
He came very dangerously close to her and his eyes flashed. "First of all, you'll be less naughty, Dolly. Second, my intentions can go past your sugary sweet ass. This is a secure area where you children have no business at all! For that alone I could chase you both a bullet in the head. Nothing personal, it's all about the job." He growled. "My job, not yours! I've made myself clear?"

Only her friend exchanged quick looks between her, Erron Black and the gun on her forehead.  
Cassie had clenched her fists and the veins on her temples throbbed through her tender muscles.  
"I don't care about your job. If you cannot do anything but enfranch young girls, then you've clearly missed your career choice." She stubbornly returned without thinking about the consequences of her choice of words.

Four pairs of eyes sprayed sparks toward her. Who of the two would kill her first, was a question of the next seconds.

"Oh, you're so dead, Cass!" Scolded her friend. "If he's shootin me, I'll come back and kill you all by myself!" Cassie blinked. Did she just say that?  
Even the Outworld Cowboy seemed to end his patience.  
"If you ever thought I would let you get away live, then I have to disappoint you, Cage. It's like in every gambling. Your little game is over now." His free hand reached for the second revolver.  
"And your intention to face Kotal Kahn under these circumstances is the most ludicrous thing I have come across tonight."

It's now or never. "Whatever you have with the Emperor... Damn it, now listen to me, Erron!" She said emphatically. "We are not here for the Kahn. We were only looking for you."  
He seemed to have expected everything, but not this. However, he kept his hand on the revolver handle. "And what do you want from me, anyway?" He asked confused. Cassie took a step toward him. Under Jacqui's startled gasp, she tore the mask off her nose and presented her raw flesh over the contours of her facial bones.  
"We know that you are from another time. A time when these deeds began!" He was silent.

"The deeds that brought me this," she continued. "I expect no sympathy from you. I hope for nothing else, as help. Everyone is disputing the true cause of the incident, but I've seen him. He followed me every second in my dreams.  
They say his name is Leatherface. A Legend has told that some 160 years ago, he began to commit atrocious assaults on young women ... and to my mother's fear, whose father wanted to track down this legend, that he was always after me. But why did he want ... "  
He raised his hand abruptly and silenced her again. His face was paler than before and his voice hollow as he spoke.

"Legends often don't bring us actual knowledge or truth. What follows legends are myths. Myths that lead to mistaken beliefs. Where, in part, perhaps the author has attached importance to the fact that the truth must never come to light in its raw form, as that was the case with Thomas."  
He sighed, it sounded almost dejected.

Cassie's thoughts tumbled wildly. What did he just mean?  
"But why should you know that?" Jacqui exclaimed.  
His tired eyes reflected a distant memory. "You must know, this legend, it came from me ..."

 **If I haven't already written it three times, then I'll do it again. The party is really starting now. What informations will Cassie gain through Erron Black?** **What's his story anyway?** **Stay tuned and find out in the next chapter! Bye for now! MasterFran (reporting outta the snowy moutains of Austria :D)**


	31. Chapter 31

**It's done. Chapter 31 has robbed me of a lot of time and nerves. It's been my longest chapter so far and almost a tragic story of its own. A few notes in advance: The following events are based in part on the films of The Texas Chainsaw massacre. But I chose a very unique plot for the course of my story, therefore it will differ from the movies. The mystery will be clarified throughout. I wish you much fun!**

* * *

"You ... but how? And why?" She stuttered in horror. He raised his hand and silenced her. He slowly lowered the gun and released her. "Follow me." He finally said and marched over to another door. When Jacqui got up too, he glared at her. "No. You wait here. I'm just going to involve Sergeant Cage." She opened her mouth to protest, but Cassie shook her head, causing Jacqui to pull back.

Erron Black opened the door and let her enter. The room was even smaller than the previous one and consisted of nothing but an old scratched poker table with a few rancid chairs from which the cobwebs were already hanging. Cassie stood uncertain for a moment, not knowing how to react.

Black jerked a chair out from under the table and dropped heavily on it. He offered her no place, so she settled stiffly at the other end of the table.  
Icy silence prevailed between the two. Even if he was no longer threatening at the moment, she felt as if she had been convicted.

The mercenary had crossed his arms and looked disparagingly at the young soldier, and she did as well. After half an eternity, however, he began to open his mouth.  
"So you want to know how I know Hewitt? Why did I initiate the legend of serial killer Leatherface? "His gloomy gaze left her no peace. "That's why I'm here." She answered as openly as possible, trying to suppress the tremor of her voice. He narrowed his dark eyes. "Why?"

"Isn't it obvious that if I have a chance to know something about this man who ruined my life after 160 years, I'll ask you for information as the only contemporary witness of that time?" She replied dryly. She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out the old notebook, the heirloom of her ancestors. The only thing about what she had until now.

"The legacy of my grandfather is the only thing that would have warned me of the impending disaster. And my mother had interpreted the signs. Yet she came too late to prevent it. But she knew it. That it would happen. And I suppose you knew it too."

He laughed. "The Blades have always been a thorn in my side. Through and through a military family. But in the end I helped them when it came to clarifying the myth. They never knew that it was me, but they shouldn't. I swore that to Thomas." He didn't ask for her book. Why should he? It was, after all, his version of the legend. He fell into a faint stare again.  
"No." he said." No one had ever learned the whole truth. Not even I myself knew. But once, Thomas Hewitt wasn't a murderer that. He was my friend."

Cassie frowned. "Your friend?" He nodded. "It's been a very long time and yet I'll never forget the day I walked into this mysterious boy."

Silently, the soldier pulled a pen out of her pocket and opened the notebook. There were still so many pages in this story a blank slate. What she learned now could decide everything she would do in the next few hours.

"How did you know him? Respectively, under what circumstances did you meet each other?"  
His brown eyes were fixed on a spot somewhere on the wall behind her, as though somewhere he was looking for a clue in the past.

"I was a normal boy of the 19th century from a middle-class family in Texas. Early on I learned to handle weapons from my father, who was a hunter and descendant of an old sheriff family. Otherwise, I was a nobody in town. I didn't have friends. I also thought that I wouldn't need one. I preferred to go for rambles alone in the moors. I forgot the exact day of our first meeting. I only know that it was sometime in May. I pulled out of school again and went to my ponds to hunt. Not knowing what unusual catch I would make."

* * *

 _Erron Black, 9 years old:_

It was a clear morning in the country. The people went to their usual work. The children attended the local elementary school. All but one boy. Nine-year-old Erron hated lessons. When he asked his teacher to go to the bathroom, he quickly took his bundle, hid the school supplies under a plank board, and climbed out the window.

It wasn't the first time he had skipped school. His father had often slapped him for it. He expects more rigor and discipline from a Black and no lazy strays.

But Erron wanted to be free and enjoy his childhood. He ran through the village with a leather bag, 2 boxes of bullets and a solid revolver from his father, climbed over the fences of the surrounding gardens and made his way to his favorite moors.

The toads have been gaining ground for days. He enjoyed doing some target practice on them. So he would soon become the best gunslinger in the whole of Texas. But there was nobody to share the hobby with.

It made him sad. None of the boys in the class wanted anything to do with a tramp like him. "No matter." he kept saying. "Who needs friends? I get by alone!"

Within a few hours he had shot 26 toads. Sometimes in the back, or just blew a hole in the head. He collected them in his bag. He lay down again at one of the ponds between the tall grasses. No one could see him between the reeds and so he waited patiently for the extra large chunks, which would show up only after a very long wait.

Suddenly he saw small circles on the water surface. A particularly large toad swam with strong features between the mire exactly in his trajectory. Erron grinned and clutched the trigger. That was his special pool. Throughout the spring he had prepared the ground with barbed wire, which he had laboriously collected. Should one of the amphibians seek shelter from his bullets in the depths, then it would be mercilessly trapped.

Breathing low, he aimed the trigger at the animal in front of him. The toad turned its head and looked at him with its big ugly eyes. The throat sack was bulging. "Gottcha."  
But just as he was about to pull the trigger, a loud splashing noise sounded.  
The toad turned and swam with swift moves into the mud.

Angrily Erron slammed his fist into the dirty water. But then a loud scream sounded. Puzzled, he straightened from his hiding place and could not believe his eyes. There was a kid, not much shorter than him, kicking wildly with his arms and right leg. He was trapped in his barbed-wire trap with his left foot.

"Hey!" he shouted. "What are you doing there?" The boy clearly seemed in trouble. "Help, help!" he screamed in despair.

Erron sprang heartily into the waist-high bog and waded to the struggling child.

"Hold still!" he commanded, sweating, trying to loosen the barbed wire around his foot. Succeeded. The stranger was free.

Panting, he paddled out of the swamp, where he remained lying on his stomach. Erron also climbed out of the mud. His clothes were dripping with dirt.

"What did you think, what you are doing here?" he snapped at the boy. He jumped anxiously. "It was an accident!" he tried to justify himself. "I'm sorry you had to save me." Erron took a step towards him and he backed away.

"I have to concentrate, and a weakling like you should be careful here." He drew his revolver. "Happiness is a warm gun, so don't take it!"

"Look, I'm really sorry that I disturb you. I just want to find out, what are you doing here." he said timidly. The young Black opened a leather bag and presented a good dozen decapitated amphibians.

"I hunt toads." he said sternly. "And that's my territory."

He thought he had finally scared the skinny boy, maybe he would pull the leash and never reappear. But he didn't seem to be shaken at all.

"My parents are butchers, we raise pigs and slaughter them, but I have never eaten toads." He grimaced. "How does it taste?"

Erron frowned. He hadn't expected this behavior. "Um, I've never tried any." he admitted. "This is just a pastime, shooting holes in tin cans and hunting toads." The boy eyed the dead animals again. "Mother once said that tastes like chicken."

"Try it, if you really want it." Erron took one of the toads and tore it's thighs out. He handed a leg to the linnet . Hesitantly he took it. "But then you have to do it too."

"Why that?" He looked at him seriously. "You killed this animal and you have to eat it." Erron took the second leg. It looked like moldy. "It looks so nasty. Ok, let's go."

He bit into the flesh. Instantly, his tongue writhed in disgust. Quickly he spat out the reckless toad and wiped his mouth on his shirt. "Urgh." The other boy, too, hadn't gotten the meat down and ran his fingers over his tongue several times. They looked at each other and laughed out loud.

"Never again do I try this again." said Erron. The boy smiled. "Neither do I." He liked him. He was just a lonely tramp like him.  
"I have to go back home." the boy said something guiltily. Black thought quickly. "I'll come back here tomorrow and hunt some carp." And because it really meant something to him, he added. "If you feel like, you can join me."

His face shone. "May I really accompany you?" He smiled. "Sure. What's your name, anyway? I'm Erron Black." The boy timidly shook his hand. "Thomas Brown Hewitt." he said timidly. Erron shouldered his bag. He would feed the dead toads to his dog. Or bury them. "So then, Thomas. We meet at the yew tree on the moor."

"I will wait here." said Thomas pleased and looked after his new acquaintance.

"And tomorrow we will hunt together!" He grinned. "Together!"

* * *

"Thomas and I soon became inseparable friends. I felt freed as I haven't been for a long time. He was the first friend I ever had. But something was different about him. I wasn't allowed to visit him at home. He didn't even want to tell me where he lived. He also advised me never to look for his house. His mother wouldn't like to bring strangers."

"Strangely freak." Cassie muttered. Black didn't seem to hear it.

"Our friendship, too, was put to the test every year we got older, he was a good friend, but his behavior became stranger in those years, and he didn't want to admit it or talk to me about it.  
He claims that there were only a few little quarrels in the family. I left it at that. But doubts kept gnawing at me as to what was really going on in this boy."  
He paused as he spoke and massaged his temples. "But one fateful day, a couple of years later, he could no longer keep that dark side from me."

* * *

 _Erron Black and Thomas Hewitt, 13 years old_

He didn't show up. For more than an hour Erron was crouching at their hiding place in the ponds, waiting for his buddy. The sun was already slowly low.

It was actually geese season. Thomas and Erron wanted to meet today at the pond to surprise their families later with a fresh goose. But he didn't come. The first time that he didn't.  
After a few more minutes, he gave up and packed his things. He was more worried than mad at his best friend.

Maybe he was ill. Or he had to help his family. Thomas hadn't told him much about his relatives, just how hard they worked.  
He had never visited him before. He felt that nervousness in the boy when he talked about his family. So it happened that he didn't know anyone of the Hewitt-clan. Nobody knew them.

A cold wind swept over the moorland and caused the almost bare treetops on the edge of the forest to tremble. Autumn was soon over. The food would be scarce again. It would have been all the better if the goose hunting had been successful today.

Erron decided, before he went home, to go to the old yew tree at the edge of the forest. It was their favorite hangout for years. He would leave a message for him.  
If he hadn't been able to visit him at home, he would let him know he was there and worried.

Shortly before the edge of the forest, he noticed the large crowd of crows passing over him. They were never a good sign. They meant hunger and death for him. In his family they were a bad omen.

"Please be okay, Thommy." he murmured as the yew came within sight.

As he approached the tree, he suddenly froze. The ground in front of their branches had been trampled. The tree trunk stuck with, he had to look closer,... blood. His back was cold as he followed the trail of the churning earth. Wheel and footprints. That wasn't a wild animal.

"Thommy!" he shouted loudly. There was no question of whether he was actually here. But he heard it. A whimpering in the distance. He came closer to him. The voice belonged to Thomas. He started to run.

"Thommy, where are you? Answer, I am ... oh my god." He stopped abruptly as he almost tripped over the body of a person lying on the ground.

He stared blankly at the mutilated corpse at his feet, unable to grasp what he just saw. The teenager cowered under a tree with blood-taped fingers and breathed, completely traumatized. Erron hurried to him, shaking his shoulder.

"What happened?" he asked in dismay. Thomas sobbed violently. "Who trimmed him so cold-blooded?" A spasm came over the young Hewitt and he clapped his hands violently in front of his nose and smeared his face with blood. "Thommy?"

"I killed him, Erron." he whispered under another sob. He backed away distraught. "That was you?" He nodded. And now for the first time he saw the heavy chainsaw, which lay a few meters further in the bushes. The blood and organ juices on it's chainrings were still fresh. Erron didn't know if he should flee on the spot. But he tried to pull himself together and crouched next to Thomas again. "But I do not understand why you did that."

"Mother and Uncle Charlie. They work so hard for me. Mother loves me so much. But they have no more work. Our pigs are gone. And the manager wanted to take our work away. He even called me a dumb animal." He cried again. "Mother had done everything for me. They were not allowed to take everything from us. So suddenly I had this chainsaw in my hand and just ..." He couldn't continue.

"Uncle Charlie got me. I thought he was mad at me. But he praised me. He said, this is the only way out of the crisis. We have to sell human flesh. He had also done it during war. But I... I was so scared! When Uncle left the room, I grabbed the man on a wheelbarrow and just ran away, but when I ran, and the chainsaw was hanging on my back, there was such a feeling in me..." He swallowed. "As if I knew exactly what I had done, as ... I would have done it once."

His eyes kept shifting between his friend and the slashed manager whose blood colored the moss of the ground red.

"I'm a monster, Erron. I always knew that there was something in me. But i don't want to show it! I don't want to kill people. It compels me to do so, but I don't know who is this dark side in me!" His voice ebbed again into a whimper. "Please don't leave me, Erron! You are my best friend! My only friend."

"I will never leave you. But you have to promise me something!"

"I'll try."

"You have to disappear from home, Thommy!"

"I can't. They are my family! They are everything I have."

"They will manipulate you! You are not a monster. I am your friend and I know you. But stay away from those who make a monster out of you! There are still people who believe in you. People like me."

He closed his eyes and caught a quick thought that would change his life.

"I'll come with you, Thommy. We're leaving home together! Start a new life, away from all of them."

The young Hewitt wiped a tear from his eyes.

"You really would do that for me?" He took his hand.

"Any time. Because friends have to stick together, come what may!"

* * *

"That was the last day I saw my family, and Thomas and I disappeared from our home the next morning. Forever. Until now I do not know if I should regret this decision." Cassie felt a stab in her heart. She, too, had chosen this path, if not as young as he was back then. Only among friends, leaving the family, and more or less on her own.  
"With nothing but a little money and the clothes we wore, we made off. We hid the chainsaw in a tree in the forest. We buried the corpse a few meters further.

We walked through the country for days and nights until we settled in Greenville. Nobody knew us, no one followed us.  
Homeless children were a normal sight there. And to stay afloat, we worked where we could.

10 years passed and we grew up like brothers, didn't let each other down. But we did grew up from teens into men. And it was another day where I was surprised the usually shy Thommy. When he met a young woman. Magdalena.

* * *

 _Erron Black and Thomas Hewitt, 23 years old_

It was the hottest summer of 1852. Erron had worked since the early hours of the morning in the glowing waves of the local smithy, melting iron and copper, cutting the scrap metal, and honing the local chief's knife collection.

He was satisfied with his daily wage. As always, he would share it with Thomas. The two friends had settled in the tiny community of Greenville for nearly 10 years, about 60 miles from their former home.

Much had happened in these years. Every day, the boys had to work to stay alive. But they had done it, in the meantime they had even built a small bungalow from the money they had accumulated.

While Erron was allowed to help out in the smithy for some time, Thomas served as a cook for some households. He was surprised by his talent for making a tasty, spicy dish out of almost every ingredient except frog legs. It was almost scary when Erron once asked him how he got that passion.

"I had a dream." he confessed at that time. "I dreamed of making raw pieces of meat into a kind of stew with a man I thought I knew from somewhere, he had met me more often in my dreams, but I don't know his name, he always whispered to me: Drayton's Chili! Never forget the recipe!"

"You're crazy, Thommy." he had answered and shook his head. "What the hell is Drayton's Chili? Among us, find yourself a girlfriend to help you get a grip on those weird dreams, otherwise you'll be nuts."

After all, his sick ideas and what they had done were the reason they moved away.

It was a journey into the unknown, but the break from his former home seemed to be actually healing Hewitt.

He seemed to succeed in shedding his past. His abusive family. Even the murder of the man who plagued him for so long.

The two had today agreed to go fishing on the big lake. It was Friday. Fish Day. The meal he could handle well after this hard day.

Thomas was already there. Erron could see that from afar. But he stayed behind an embankment at a distance. Because his friend was not alone. He sat by the lake and on his shoulder leaned a young blond woman. She smacked some chewing gum and occasionally laughed at what Thomas said to her. He knew her.

"What's he doing there with Magdalena?" he murmured to himself. Magdalena Cassandra Crane was the daughter of the blacksmith Erron worked for. They had known each other for several years. She had already procured some good hunting knives for him and Thomas. Occasionally, unusual for a woman, drinking in the same bar. She was incredibly confident. And funny. He would never have thought that she would have a thing for a man like Thomas.

After a few minutes Magdalena kissed him on the cheek, said goodbye and left the meeting place. Erron quickly ducked behind a rock and waited until she was out of earshot.

Then he jumped out of his hiding place and tapped his friend's back with a fishing rod on his shoulder.

"Unusually, whatever catch you make." he said. Thomas whirled around.

"Erron!" he exclaimed in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here?" He seemed to have completely forgotten the reason for their agreement.

"Looks like you have a girlfriend, eh?" he tripped him.

"Envious, because you have none?" Thomas grumbled back. Erron shook his head and looked after the blond woman as she wandered down the avenue.

"What do you like about her?"

"That sounds crazy, but I feel that we are closer than you can imagine. It must have been fate that I should meet her. Is that what they call true love, Erron?"

"I'm not a love expert, but she seems to please you, right?" He blushed. "She really belongs to me, but I don't think you'll like it."

Erron sat down next to him and took a blade of grass in his mouth. "What's wrong, Thommy?" he finally asked.

"Magda and I have been together for over half a year." he mumbled embarrassed.

"And why did you never tell me about it?" Erron asked, confused. Thomas scratched his shoulder.

"I didn't want you to feel hurt because I'm in a relationship."

"Bullshit. Why should I feel hurt?" he said. "I've known Magdalena for as long as you have. What's wrong with that?"

He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, they were slightly red. "Because I decided to move away with her."

The blade of grass fell from his mouth. "Please what?" Erron laughed. "That was a good joke." But he fell silent again when a serious face stared at him. "Now really?"

"I'm serious, Erron." he said. "We still don't know exactly where we're going. To a place where it draws us the most."

"You want to leave the town? Without me?" his friend clarified.

"You have to understand!" he implored. "I love Magdalena! It was her greatest desire to see the world outside of Greenville. To build a new life somewhere."

Erron went to him and hugged him like a brother. "Of course I understand you, my friend." he said. "I'll miss you very much, you know that. Our lives will never be the same as they used to be when you're gone."

Thomas relaxed at the understanding of his best friend. "I know. But we're grown men now, Erron. And I had problems in my childhood. You helped me so much, my friend. And with Magda, I hope I'll finally be able to leave that past behind." He patted his shoulder. "I will write you letters, Erron!" he promised. "And one day, when we meet again, you'll say: Nice to meet fellow Texas!"

Erron laughed and they hugged one last time. "I will respect your decision. You will go your own way now. But take care, my friend.  
We will meet again soon."

* * *

"He kept his agreement. I knew he would never let me down. We wrote letters for the next few months. Months became years. But where they went I never learn. But he was advance. Three years after our last meeting, fate suddenly took an unexpected turn ... in 1855."  
Cassie stared at her grandfather's handwritten note. 1855. She guessed what would happen. But not how cruel it would be.

* * *

 _Erron Black and Thomas Hewitt, 26 years old_

He thought it was over. The delusion. The nightmares. But Erron knew that behind the façade of his best friend, a dark secret was waiting. Something that even Thomas Hewitt himself was not aware of. But he let and analyzed them. Every single letter he received from his friend in the last 3 years.

But the letter that came to him today scared him to death.

 _The dreams get worse. It doesn't stop. Even Magda feels it. Try to comfort me. But I don't want her affected. There is something wrong. Something is going on in Magda. Bad things. I don't want anything to happen to her. I don't want her to leave me. Nobody is allowed to know. No police. You have to swear to me not to tell anyone. I need you, my friend._

 _Thommy_

He recognized the sign inside the envelope. The branch of a yew. He had returned to his former hometown, with Magda. How could he do that? Did he think he could beat his nightmares there? It didn't seem to help him. But the news that it could now affect Magdalena, he was in a panic. He had to leave immediately.

The journey back to his homeland was time-consuming and arduous. April sent many thunderstorms. But he managed to return. In the streets of his community where he was born. Thomas and Magda also had to stay here. In the pouring rain he ran through the streets of Ivanhoe. It was night. The wind howled.

He already suspected that something bad had happened.

Once he thought he saw a figure running through the undergrowth, but the rain was so strong that it could only be imagination.

Erron approached the main road. To his surprise, he saw people standing in the street. The inhabitants of Ivanhoe. They had gathered around something he couldn't see. "Hey!" he shouted through the storm. "What's happening?"

People screamed as a bloody man broke through their midst. He had his hands over his face and tried blindly to make his way through the streets. His blood froze in his veins as he recognized the figure. "Thommy!" Erron yelled after him. "Stay here!"

He heard the call of his friend. But Hewitt stumbled on the slippery stones and fell to the ground. Erron hurried through the lashing rain to his friend.  
"Let me help you, my friend." He said in a shaky voice.

But when Thomas raised his head, he gave a horrified scream.

His face was completely destroyed. Knife blades had pulled deep flesh wounds into his skull. His nose was severed. Only blood and water ran out of the large wide holes of the open sinuses. His eyes were glassy with pain. His mouth trembled. The teeth were all battered and crooked in his jaw. He couldn't.

"What are you trying to tell me?" Erron whispered.

Barely audible in the horrific storm, his lips formed a single word. "Magda ..."

No. That couldn't be. Would this nightmare never end?

"Thommy, what did she do to you?!" he asked in a trembling voice. "Why did she attack you?"

But he began to shake violently in the entire body. Suddenly he jumped up and ran away with his heavy injuries just in the dark. "Magda!" he shouted in mourning. "MAGDA!"

Erron, too, jumped up and gasped for his friend. But it was in vain. His form was lost in the night. The blood he lost was inexorably washed away by the rain.

"No! Come back! Thommy!"

It didn't make sense. He was gone.

Erron waited, as he always had. At the old yew at the edge of the forest. And he began to pray to the elder gods. That his friend returned. And he did it. It was May 21, 1855.

He actually came back. With long jumps, Erron ran across the moor as he recognized the tall, powerful figure of Thomas Hewitt. Blindly, he threw himself around his friend's neck and hugged him as hard as he could.

"Thommy" he exclaimed relieved. "I was so worried!"

Thomas didn't respond. His body was strangely tense. And he exuded a pungent smell. The metallic smell of blood.

Only now did the friends face each other for the first time after all these days. But it was no longer the familiar face, which now turned to Erron Black. It was a mask. A mask made of the facial skin of a human. A young woman. His dark eyes stared blankly out of his different eyelids.

Erron took a step away from him. Nausea almost took his mind off.

"What have you done?"

And now he saw the chainsaw. It was bloody. Just like the day the manager died from the deadly chainrings.

"Magda is back with me." he announced proudly. "Gives protection and warmth. Will kiss my lips! "

Disgusted, he stared at the leathery mask, from the face of the unknown woman, with which he covered his disfigured face. "This is not Magda!" He pressed out.

Thomas looked like a puzzled puppy. "No. This is not Magda." He repeated monotonously.

He was crazy. Completely insane. Erron grabbed the man by the shoulders and shook him roughly. He had to wake up again.

"Look at me, Thomas, you can't give up now! Believe in yourself!"

"Magda has to come back, Magda belongs to me."

"She's gone, Thomas! She will never come back."

But he didn't seem to understand. His eyes had glazed over as he ran his trembling fingers along the handle of his chainsaw. "Lie ..." he whispered.

"Look at you!" Erron screamed outraged. "Look at your face and what you turned into! This demon is no longer your girlfriend! You... Leatherface!"

His fist hit him unprepared and with full force in the face. Erron fell to the ground and put his hand over his mouth. Warm blood spilled out of his nose and from a laceration under his left eye. He was waiting for another blow. But when he looked up he only saw in the dull eyes of his friend. He dropped his fist.

"Girlfriend. She must go back to me. Must be close to her." Thomas turned away with a snort and ran away. Shaken, the outcast had to watch as his former best friend ran with heavy footsteps to the edge of the forest and finally disappeared into the darkness between the trees. He himself stayed behind. Bleeding, forgotten, all alone.

* * *

Cassie saw the eyes of the otherwise emotionless and hard cowboy turn red. She felt an onslaught of compassion and writing this cruel violence scene was hard for her. It could have been her own storybook ending. Injured, disfigured and rejected.

Erron swallowed hard as he tried one last time to remember the last moments of his best friend.

"That was the last time I saw Thomas personally. And then he disappeared from my life, as I knew it before. Year after year I prayed to the elder gods to help him. There were 9 women who died that day because of his delusion. His delusion of Magda's return. But it just didn't stop, not yet. What I heard from him was the bloody remains of his victims, who were murdered by his hand, generation after generation, without remorse, without reflection.

On that day, an invisible protective wall broke in him. Something was destroyed in him the night Magdalena attacked him. It was that night when the monster he tried to hide came to life and destroyed his life forever.

Now, in his insatiable delusion, he neutraliced the lives of others. My friend Thomas didn't exist anymore. Leatherface was born.  
Born to be a killer."

* * *

 **I really hope you enjoyed it. I try to make sure that it continues soon. Unfortunately, I have some exams, which is why I currently have little time for my fanfictions.**

 **To all fans of Dr. Kombat** **: I have very bad news. My laptop had a lot of damage to the hard drive. It's now fixed, but my memory has lost a lot of files. Unfortunately, all my chapters, including the new ones that I was about to publish soon, from were among the lost data. It is so annoying. I'm sorry for those who have been waiting for an update since December. It will take even longer because I have to start from the beginning with the chapters. I hope you can forgive me and be patient for a while. I wish you all a good week! MasterFran**


	32. Chapter 32

**My dear readers. Actually, my plan was to finish writing this chapter in early February and publish it. But everything happened differently than planned. I had stress with my university exams, my grandma suddenly got sick with a dangerous lung infection and I was pretty exhausted during my holidays. But I pulled myself together and finally resumed my chapter. Again, however, I had to divide it into two parts because of the length. This follows, if this time no misfortune, in the next weeks. I hope you forgive me the wait and enjoy the new chapter. Have fun.**

The truth, finally. Or more certainty for Cassie. The legend is true. And this legend lives. Leatherface was not a myth, a fantasy, or a brainwave. He is an existing person. At least that's what she went for after the shocking story of Black. But a decisive point was still unclear.

"What happened to her? His ... girlfriend?" Erron looked up at her, lost in thought. "Magdalena? She disappeared a few weeks before he committed the first serial killing. In the night of Ivanhoe, where she had torn him to loss of my best friend almost upset my life. But I stuck to one last hope. To take down the cause of his suffering. This suffering seemed to emanate only from this girl. I searched for her for years until I could finally hunt her down. However, for this former beauty there was no hope."

Cassie uncomfortably throbbed her scalped temples and she struggled to concentrate on the notebook and close the gaps in the story. But where one closed, ten new opened up.

"There was no way out. I had to rid Magda of her corruption before she could do any more damage." Her pen suddenly slipped through her fingers and fell silently into her lap.

"You killed her?" She asked stunned. He didn't look up. "I had no choice. She was completely crazy. But she died fast and clean, that's what I wanted to guarantee. "

She swallowed. "And where is she now?"  
"I had buried her body in a cemetery somewhere in Earthrealm, hoping that no one would find her and that poor soul could rest in peace.  
But those hopes were dashed when another Mortal Kombat tournament began nearly 30 years ago. It was a trap. The cemetery was an arena and she became a victim."

He was always cloaking himself in the mysteries. But she needed clear answers if she wanted to continue. "But WHERE is she?" she asked sharply. Maybe a bit too sharp, because Black had straightened up and approached her. Cassie was worried that he would slap her, but suddenly the cowboy grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her close to him, leaving his mouth just inches from her ear.

"You're looking for answers, just like me. I'm not the answer to your questions. But Leatherface is not the one you need to look for. Only Magdalena knows what happened that night. She may be dead, but her soul is screaming. I'm not telekenetic, but I've felt her presence every day, when she's still struggling not to be forgotten.  
This soul has been robbed, dragged away, collected."

His closeness was scary. "Collected." she repeated slowly. She had a disturbing suspicion.

"We are many, you are but one - 1000 souls without a way out." he whispered in her ear. Her eyes grew big. So you couldn't just be in the Netherrealm or in Heaven after death. There were 1000 destinies, which were united to a new new warrior. As a being strong, as every single soul enslaved. And one of them was an insane woman, already dead for over 100 years, and yet perhaps the key behind a terrible secret.

At the same moment, the door to the small adjoining room was torn open. Jacqui stared at them incredulously and met Erron Black's angry look. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something here, but I was starting to get worried. And we're running out of time." Alarmed, Cassie took a step back. She was right. Time had totally been ignored. For too long they had already invaded enemy territory. She turned back to the cowboy.

"And what should I do now?" she asked.

"You're better leave now." he said. "Get out of here before the men from the security service will catch you first." He opened the door they'd come in and peered intently down the corridor. Then he grabbed Cassie and Jacqui roughly by the arm and shoved her into the hallway.  
Jacqui opened her mouth to protest, but Black didn't let her talk. "Go. Now! "He growled.  
The door was slammed and they were alone. The friends said nothing, just stared at each other. Jacqui was the first to found her voice again. "Bastard!" She scolded. "He could have hid us without any problem and now we are food for the lions!"

"Shh. Be quiet." Cassie hissed in alarm, looking up and down the corridors. "You know Erron Black. That was more information than I expected anyway." She swallowed her concern. "Let's do what he says. Let's go, while we can!"

Time ran out and she looked at the surveillance camera on the ceiling. Still, the case didn't move. But how long would Mileena's lead help them escape? Because once she was back in business, it was only a matter of time before they were rediscovered throughout the hole area.

"Come." Cassie gently waved toward the hallway where they had come in at the beginning. "If we hurry, we'll be out before any of these guards get us."

Jacqui shook her head slightly. "You are the leader of this mission. Let us bring this chapter to an end."  
"Hopefully a good one."

With a watchful eye on the camera, the friends scurried through the corridor.  
The door was still ajar. And even the $ 5,000 still stuck under the frame. Cassie gripped the doorframe with clinging fingers, but the door jammed.

"Congratulations. You did a great job, Briggs." she gasped. Jacqui rolled her eyes. "Without my idea, you would not even have gotten that far, Cage! Wait, I got you." Grimly, they pulled together on the stubborn door frame and slowly but steadily opened it inch by inch. They were so engrossed in their work that neither Cassie nor Jacqui noticed the approach of a foot couple.

"Hey, what are you doing in here? Intruders!" They spun around. It was too late to hide. A scrawny blond-haired employee had stealthily sneaked up behind her and stood in front of them, looking uncertainly from one to the other.  
They looked at each other briefly and nodded by mutual agreement. Cassie's fist caught the man sideways at the neck while Jacqui thundered her own against his upper lip. Both blows hit the mark. Unconsciously, the first guard sank to the ground.

Jacqui stared at Cassie, who was slightly confused by the sudden attack. "Holy shit." she hissed. "Where one of these guys is, half a dozen can turn up! Come, there has to be another way out of here!"

Cassie suddenly grabbed Jacqui hard by the arm.

"What's happening?" she snapped at her friend.

"Mileena!" hissed Cassie. "She is still in there!"

Her answer was harshly. "Don't worry about her, as long as she's in the ventilation shaft, she's safe from the guard." Cassie shook her head frantically.

"What about the microchip? They will surely locate it and what then?"

Jacqui's mouth opened in shock. "Shit, I totally forgot that!" She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. "Quick, tell her to get out of here right now and she has to destroy her transmitter!"

"Not until she's back with us - if we lose the signal now, she's trapped in this building."

"Alright." she hissed. "Now we have to save our own ass before they lock us up!"

"Let's try the door again." insisted Cassie. "I just need something to leverage."

Jacqui nudged the unconscious guard with her boot. "Maybe he has something." The soldier dropped to her knees and rolled the man onto his stomach. In fact, he was wearing a nightstick on his back waistband. She hastily released him from his pants.

"Poor sod." she mumbled and stuck the stick as far as possible in the half-open door. "Help me, JB." With full force her friend pressed against the stick while Cassie held it in position. The door made groaning sounds again as Cassie's daily income was shredded again . Eventually, however, the two girls managed a gap big enough to squeeze through. Cassie took the stick and tucked it into her own belt. It had to be good for something else.

She took a deep breath and carefully squeezed through the gap, looking around the corner of the casino. Everything was busy and cheerful as always.  
"Anything that wants to hunt us?" Jacqui whispered. Cassie shook her head. "I think we're safe."

"Then let me out of here." She slid hastily through the gap. Jacqui followed her, a little pale around her nose. Confused, the two friends found themselves in the rear of the Bellagio again. That was ... easier than expected. Jacqui tapped her shoulder lightly. "Now we call our plushtoy and then get the hell out. Enough games for today."

"Quiet and unobtrusive?" she replied with a grin. The answer came even before Jacqui could open her mouth. Another door was chrushed opened, from which more than half a dozen men of the security staff stormed in. Cassie's mouth sagged back down. One roared loudly and pointed at the girl. "There they are! Get them!"

"I think you can answer that question yourself." she replied wearily. "Run, now."  
"I don't have to be told twice, Specialist Briggs."

Two trained soldiers and Earthfighters against eight muscular guys from the Bellagio security guard. Seven, if they didn't count the unconscious weakling that was still behind the door. However, Cassie and Jacqui were still outnumbered. Even so, the young Cage's legs moved almost by herselve as she ran away from the officers. Now it was about everything. If she didn't get her ass out of this casino right away, this undercover mission would be her last.

Cassie had lost the orientation in the casino long ago, although they had first looked around a few hours earlier. She and Jacqui both struck a hook in different directions, as they used it on several missions as a hostile diversionary tactic. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that she had only three of her pursuers stuck with her. But they didn't intend to let her go unsullied.

"One half for each?" Jacquard's sudden radio contact almost stumbled over her own feet. "Fair fight." she replied shortly. "Or we can finish them with our team tactics and take off?"

"I work my way through the eastside and meet at the slot machines in the middle." _And where the hell are the slot machines?_ By the way, Cassie was having a hard time getting herself out of the way every meter of a casino visitor. The entire area had already noticed the wild chase. Some shouted and rushed out of the way while others cheered them on her escape.

"Cassie!" She couldn't react directly to Jacqui's incoming message. When she was stopped by a large group at the race, she was suddenly grabbed by one hand and tried to roughly rip her shoulder. Without looking back, Cassie ducked to one side, grabbed one of the surrounding players by the chest and hurled him at her first pursuer with a startled outcry. The tall, bald, security officer bumped into the visitor she'd pushed against him.

"Out of my way!" the man shouted and pushed the visitor with his flat hand on his face. "Damn brat!" However, this short disability gave the soldier a few important meters of lead and time to contact Jacqui.

"It's like a plushy flock of sheep!" she called with her finger on her ear, drowning out the excited chatter of the visitors. Jacqui's answer was not long in coming. "Where you're already call plushy... is our skunk back with you?" In shock, she stopped frozen for half a second. "Fuck me." she blurted out. "I'm such an idiot!"

With a fluid movement, she threw herself forward and rolled over her shoulder under one of the big gaming tables. Through her right ear she could hear that her friend was also struggling with the same problems. "I'll kill you before they do it!" Jacqui spat against her irritated eardrum. "Tell her right away that she has to get her furry ass out of here, if she hasn't noticed yet that chaos is breaking out here and she has to destroy this fucking transmitter or we'll be delivered!" The connection broke off again.

On her hands and knees she crawled like an ant under the table, between several pairs of legs, before she straightened up again.

"Mileena, this is Cassie, please answer!" But the button in her ear remained silent. And still she had three beefy men a few feet behind her. "Fuck it!" An escape tactic remained her. Once again Cassie hit a hook, this time directly through the elegant glass doors of a separate room, the Bobby's Room.

Even without a $ 20,000 minimum, she stormed the luxury room where celebrities had gathered. Theoretically, it could be part of real life, but now was the wrong time to release her undercover. None of that prevented her from jumping to one of the occupied tables.  
The aides made a startled sound as Cassie roared right through the pile of chips worth at least $ 2 million.

"What are you doing?" commanded the game table ladder. "I am the responsible employee here!"

"This is not an employee!" The scream came from the bald man who jerked the double door open and pointed to her. "This is a cheater! Grab her!"

The game table manager seemed irritated by the command for a moment. Before he could make a decision, Cassie had pulled the Nightstick from her belt and hit it on the stack of chips. The chip shot like a bullet in the middle of his left eye. With a cry he drove back and held his hands protectively in front of his face.  
She herself stood like a golfer on the table and provocativelykissed the stick .

"Stop her!" the man screamed. His accomplices rushed forward and tried to grab the soldier by the feet. Cassie made a quick backflip and hit one of them painfully on her lower jaw with her boot. She jumped to the next table and also devastated him. Her temples throbbed with rage. Both the security and that damn dead line. From Mileena no trace. At some point she lost her patience.

"Now answer, you bitch!" she snarled at the ear with a finger.  
"Call me a bitch again and I'll take you to the cleaners!" was the unmistakable answer.

 _Finally_ , she thought peeved. "I'll accept that if ... I PUT MY FIST STRAIGHT IN YOUR ASS!" Cassie had to duck quickly to dodge one of the men who tried to bring her down with a dive over the chair. With an ugly sound, he crashed his nose into the frosted glass, which was instantly cracked by the impact. Before he had a chance to sit up, Cassie had already kicked him in the face and broke his nose a second time. With a loud crack the glass broke into several pieces, that flew all over the floor. Regardless, Cassie jumped through the hole, shards breaking painfully into her skin through her suit.  
At least she had a pursuer less, because it looked like she had set him unmistakably out of action.

"What did you just say to me?" Mileena just seemed more pissed off than angry. Cassie didn't give a shit about that at the moment. With a wave of her hand, she switched in parallel to Jacqui's reception channel.

"JB, where are you?" she reigned sternly.

"I'm fucked up." was her short answer. Cassie rolled her eyes for a moment, then pointed them back and tried to find her friend among the irritated crowds. But she couldn't see Jacqui. Only her curses kept bouncing on her.

"A've drawn a champagne bottle over one guys head. But still ... TAKE YOUR HANDS OF MY BUTT!" Another time she lost the connection. Panic she struck another hook and tried to fight in the direction of the eastside, where Jacqui seemed to be. But her orientation waned with the effort to shake off the security forces, two of whom were still close to her heels.

"Guys, what the hell is going on down there?" It croaked unpleasantly into her ear. Mileena seemed to have finally understood the seriousness of her situation.

"We're busted!" She gasped at the race. "Get out of here right now!"

"But how ... ouch ... did you do that?" Cassie turned sharply to the right as she suddenly took on a frantic movement in the crowd. People jumped out of the way when suddenly Jacqui burst through the mass, completely out of breath. She, too, had not been able to depend on all of her three pursuers.

Cassie tried to get to her when one of Jacqui's pursuers suddenly stopped, then headed straight for her. She didn't hesitate too long and ran straight for her new attacker. With her feet ahead, she skidded across the floor and right through his legs. The man screamed as she slammed her fists into his genitals as she glided through. But she had no time to be glad about this triumph. Quickly she straightened up again and pursued her friend, hoping not to be surprised by other guards.

"First you hit me in the groin, now these poor men. The last few days you're really giving off some nasty blows, Cass." Cassie digested her words for a few seconds.  
"Wait, you can see me?!"  
"Through the vents." her mentor responded as a dry answer. Then at last the penny dropped.

"So, do you know this area?" she hurriedly pursued. "Can you take me and Jacqui to the exit?"

"I can try." she admitted. "Don't you have that weird thing on your wrist? You should to be able to see me."

Cassie stared at the watch on her arm, as if seeing her for the first time. Less than 5 meters away, a dancing lightpoint moved on her display. Like an eagle, Mileena circled unnoticed and hidden above their heads.

"You're a little smartass." she admitted. "Well, new plan. You take the lead, you give us instructions and lead us out of this damn hole, then destroy the transmitter and we're gone!"  
"As far as I'm a former Empress. Follow me, kid!" The transmitter passed its point and moved away with fast pings in a southerly direction. She lost no time and immediately pursued without losing sight of her remaining hunters. They had just left their buddy lying on the floor with a bloody nose and ran after her again.

"Jacqui, new plan! We..." she warned. "I know, I know." replied Jacqui indignantly. "Im not deaf at all. Where are you, Cass?" Cassie turned to all sides but didn't see her. "Mileena, are we far apart?" she asked her eye in the sky. She was meanwhile hurrying along the wider corridor, where not so many people were. But it seemed like a big wave was coming towards her.

"Watch out, Cass, you're going to bump into each other! Jacqui is coming from the west! Do you see the slot machines in front of you?" So there it was, the original meeting place. Cassie moved into the middle of the labyrinth of slot and arcade machines. The loud snort behind, however, confirmed that the guards still couldn't be shaken off.

"I have an idea!" Mileena chattered to her. "Cassie, Jacqui, you should both see two black-haired men with dragon shirts on one of the machines!"  
"Have them in sight!" shouted Cassie. "Me too!" confirmed Jacqui. "Well then, girl, you know what to do." Only five meters, until she reached the machine.

"3 ... 2 ... 1". she murmured. Then she started to jump. With her right foot in advance, she shot around the corner. At the same moment another leg emerged from the opposite direction and the body of a cyber costume. They had long trained this duo tactic. Cassie's leg slid over her friend's outstretched thigh, while Jacqui clasped her left wrist tightly. Both of them arched her back and stuck her head between her shoulders.

The air was squeezed out of her lungs as four of the five tall men crashed into their ribcage, clinging to their heads on the floor or the nearby machines. Jacqui released her wrist. "Pretty good for such a long break from training, partner." she gasped, rubbing her aching ribs.  
"I don't think that will last long." she murmured absently. "Quick, go on, we should be out in no time!"

Together, they ran on. Close behind them, most of them behind them had again started the pursuit. Especially the bald man, obviously their leader, had been after Cassie ever since she threw the passersby at him. As she turned, she noticed how he gestured vigorously to the other staff members.  
Suddenly the remaining group split up. That made her increasingly nervous.

"Something is happening here." she called to Jacqui. Jacqui's face tensed as she turned. "That could be critical now."  
Her eyes widened as she realized what the men were up to. Like carrion and vulture, they were being circled. Only Mileena didn't seem to have noticed.

"You are almost out! Follow the signs to the south exit, then we can ..."  
They already lost valuable time. "Excluded, they're just closing our doors!" She hissed.

It was like a race between rabbit and hedgehog. Or more, the deck of cards without an ace and king. The luck was with her so far, but so the sheet could turn against them. There were only two options. Finish your round or go straight down. It was bad about them in both variants. But a person in this room had not yet come to the action, as it turned out.

"We're trapped down there, that's going to be a real problem!" She yelled with a finger on her ear to drown out the noise. There was a brief silence between Cassie and Mileena, and Cassie was already worried that she was finally losing contact. A brief crack before the following words enter her ear.  
"Yes, they're getting a real problem when the Joker comes into play. Prepare yourself for the final round!" There was no time to question the meaning of these words, when at this moment a shrill shriek sounded above their heads and as she turned there she only caught a black and white flash of light in the middle of the corner of her eye that shot into the face of the bald-headed guard.

 **I kept watching Oceans 11 and Madagascar while I was writing. Especially the soundtrack "Zooster Breakout" inspired me, as crazy as it sounds. You can listen to it until I finish the next chapter xD Or you can visit me on Wattpad, when I draw new pictures for my story (** **user/VivaBavaria** **) Leave a comment if you want. Bye for now!**


	33. Chapter 33

**Actually, I don't have time for my Fanfiction right now. But despite the exams, I have taken the requests of my followers seriously,to publish another chapter as soon as possible and therefore put my teeth to work. We are approaching the peak of the wild chase through the Bellagio. But who is the secret joker?**

With all four feet, the mammal clung to his head and slashed the hairless skull with her sharp claws with a shrill scream. Again and again she raised her front paw and threshing on his head, so that the blood just splashed everywhere. The man yelped and waved his arms around until he finally grabbed Mileena by the abdomen and ripped her from his face in horror, hurling it all over the roulette table. "Damned beast!" He cursed with his eyes closed, his white sleeves pressed against his deep bleeding scratches that stretched across his entire forehead.

Meanwhile Mileena had risen to her feet again and there she stood, her tail puffed up, her back arched, her teeth bared, hissing and spitting out her soul. Without exception, all at the table, the fine men in suits with their well-dressed women screamed and tried to save their drinks and bags, or even some of their chips without coming too close to the foamy skunk.

Cassie stared wide-eyed at her friend. She knew they were in trouble, but what she had just done was anything but stupid. It was hairbrained. But now she was there. A mature striped skunk with glowing yellow eyes and dagger-like teeth covering almost the entire snout.

"Yuck, a huge black rat!" Shrieked a heavily made-up woman. "Make it go away!"  
"Do want some of this?" Mileenascoffed loudly. Nobody seemed to understand what she said. However, when her bushy tail extended to full height, everyone understood. The people screamed hysterically and tore their jackets up in defense.

"What the hell is she doing?!" Jacqui cursed, so only her best friend could hear it. Still, Cassie was confused and didn't know if she should better run or fight. But what had Mileena thought? Surely she was looking for a distraction, but didn't she realize she was only making it worse?

The remaining security forces also seemed to have completely forgotten that they were the bad guys in this escape attempt. Surely, they were not trained on the sudden presence of a skunk with the teeth of an alligator and the claws that had mangled their leader.

"Damn man!" Growled the guard, whom she had first scalped. "Get this creature right away! Tod, now do something! " A simple brawl at the casino didn't seem to please Mileena at all. She was just out for one thing. A lot of blood. Growling, she turned to her side, where a man was slowly approaching her with his hands raised.  
"Easy, my little one." he whispered. "Be nice and come to Uncle Tod!" Mileena strained her neck fur and bared her teeth dangerously. He turned to his boss for help.

"You can't be serious, Braston." he muttered through clenched lips. "This one is a bit pissed off." The bleeding bald head cursed loudly. "Don't be a such wimp! It's just an ugly little mammal! Grab it!" Tod shook his head and walked slowly toward Mileena with raised hands. Her neck fur struggles and she ducks with a menacing hiss.  
"Well, you don't wanna come to me, he? You little fucking ugly monster?" he grinned.

His hands were barely a meter from Mileena. Cassie knew that now was the chance to escape. But it was like the whole casino was holding its breath. Jacqui, too, stood wide-eyed with beads of sweat on her face, waiting for the beast's reaction.

Tod now raised his hands up, as if he were about to grab her from behind the back of the neck. A fatal mistake. In a flash, Mileena lunged at him and her sharp teeth caught his lower lip. Tod pushed himself from the table, screaming in terror, while the skunk snarled and shook its head until it had bitten off a large part of his lip. Then she pushed away from his bloody mouth and rushed to Cassie's horror now right on her face. She closed her eyes. What the hell was this crazy woman up to? Did she want to murder the hole security?

One of the guards who had lurked impassively behind her grabbed her by the wrists, trying to get her out of the way. Cassie bounced her back hard against the man's chest. Did he want to protect her? Or just his own ass? But in the next second, a ball of fur landed on her forehead. Carefully, she opened her eyes.  
Four little feet clung tightly to her head, hiding Cassie's field of vision for a fraction. She stared incredulously at a pair of flashing amber eyes and inevitably smelled the hot sticking breath that escaped her dangerous mouth.

"Do not stand there like a salt stick!" Mileena hissed right into her face. "Move your ass, now!" With her hind legs she pushed away from her chin and jumped on one of the bar stools.  
To her confusion, the man dropped off her wrists and lunged at Mileena with his massive body. Smooth, she dodged her oversized attacker and landed on all four paws on the counter. Like a domino, the man crashed over the bar stool, knocking down all the chairs.

"You idiot!" Braston swore at him and clambered over his colleague lying on the ground. "I always have to do it myself!" He ran fast behind the fleeing animal. She saw Mileena's mischievous gaze turn to panic as the bloodied Braston tried to grab her with bare hands. She tried to run, but the polished surface of the counter irritated her for a fraction.

Braston made a long leap with a battle cry and tried to grab her by the back. She let out a shrill squeal as his fingers caught a large tuft of fur and tore it painfully from her skin, but she managed to cling to the edge with her claws as the security leader landed face first in the bar. Several cognac and liquor bottles crashed from the shelves and on him.

"Damn filthy beast!" he screamed. He grabbed a full bottle of Jack Daniels within reach and threw it with all his might in her direction. He missed Mileena's head by a hair's breadth. The bottle shattered on the counter, a shattering rain hailed through the surrounding area, while Mileena's coat was soaked in alcohol. In an attempt to escape, she inevitably slipped in the sour puddle and landed with a slapping sound, as if tossing a wet rag on the floor, between the feet of the bystanders watching the spectacle.

The crowd of visitors ran wildly and rumbled with Cassie, who was still standing there indecisively. But now she definitely couldn't lose any more time. Jacqui had already fled. Cassie also ducked now and tried to submerge in the flow of the crowd. But Braston saw it.  
"No, don't let her escape!" Whether he meant her or her other teammates or all three of them was a mystery at the time. Because the numbers on his side were shrinking steadily. The blood that came from the deep wounds from his forehead into his eyes didn't make his pursuit any easier.

She had lost sight of Mileena in between, but her wet fur left obvious stains on all the upholstery and furniture. And then she burst out of the tumult again. With long jumps she dived like a black and white jaguar from one game table to the next. She saw cards whirled up and chips hurled like hockey pucks off the table. Also the employers tried with to hit the fleeting animal with their sticks, but she was maneuverable like an oil sardine.

In vain did Braston rushed behind both Mileena and Cassie, more and more confused as to decide whom to snap first. The skunk disappeared again between foot pairs. The guard fell back.  
She was right, that crazy chick. This was the final round of this game. And she was the joker. If they couldn't do it now, it would be over. Was it a good tactic change that Mileena had leaked her secret agent role? Either she had saved their asses with it or had thrown the whole mission into chaos. The scenario was not even planned as plan Z. But everything turned out differently than expected.

Frontal, another guard tried to overthrow the young woman, raising his fist at her. Cassie was about to dodge the blow when a black bolt jumped over her shoulder and plunged into the strange hand with an aggressive shriek. The man rushed to the side with a scream, desperately trying to free his hand from the razor-sharp teeth . When Mileena finally let go of her victim, her muzzle dripped with blood and the man's fist was nothing more than a raw shredded lump with only two fingers left. The other three were hanging from torn tendons at the joints or were completely torn off.

She was almost indifferent, because she just wanted to get out of this place. But it seemed to work. The remaining guards fell further back. With a powerful kick to his knee, Jacqui slammed a last man against the hilt of a slot machine, where he hit his head against the edge and slumped numbly to the ground.

 _The last one, the final one_ , she thought hopefully. The southern exit was now right in front of them and her team right on their heels. They almost made it. They would made it!

Nobody could stop their escape now. When suddenly, without any warning, the shot fell.

 **Damn cliffhanger again xD but I'm already working on the next chapter. I divided it in another two parts, otherwise it would have been too long. This was the second last chapter of the escape from Vegas. What next? Find out in the next chapter. Leave a comment there, if you liked it so far. Bye for now!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Yes guys, a new chapter in the middle of the night. I need more time with chapter 34 than I thought. Again, I struggled with some difficult exams for university, but I can announce with pride, I made it through the most. The next chapter was originally going to be two parts, but I decide to do all in one and within it, the Las Vegas journey will end tonight. Have fun with the long-awaited chapter, leave a review, if you like!**

A huge bang echoed through the entire casino as one of the guards drew a weapon without warning and pulled the trigger. All visitors within 20 yards screamed and threw themselves on the floor, scared. Cassie, however, stood frozen in her place.  
Stunned and as if in slow motion, she had to watch as Mileena suddenly wrenched her feet under the small body during the race. Her whole body overturned several times and finally slammed with a dull sound on the Black Jack table, where she remained motionless on her back, eyes closed and the long tongue hanging out on the side of her half-opened mouth.

"No!" she gasped in horror. But no one except Jacqui seemed to notice her dismay.  
The shooter puffed to the table and examined the lifeless carcass. With the tip of his pistol he tapped the skunk on the neck. She didn't move.  
"Man Cooper, you've fully folded the beast!" One of the men walked over to his colleague and leaned against the table.  
"I don't know, do you think it's really dead?"  
"It certainly smells half decayed already."  
"Let me take a look."  
"Do not touch it, Tod! That definitely has rabies."  
"It has torn my lip! I do with it what I want!" He grabbed the mammal by its shaggy tail and held it in front of him. Cassie saw the blood dripping from her mouth and the now bluish tongue dangling sideways. She was as lifeless as a run-down wild animal on the highway.

"Yuck, just look at this fat rat! That's so disgusting. And what are we going to do with that thing now?" Tod mumbled, shaking Mileena slightly. Her limbs dangled apathetically against her glued pectoralis.  
"This is not a rat, but striped skunk! Idiot." Cooper growled, rolling his eyes.  
Sourly, his companion dropped the skunk unceremoniously on the polished table, where it again lay as a motionless pile of black and white fur.  
"Did you see these fangs? This is sick!"  
"Certainly got out of a trial lab."  
Exuberantly the conversation between the men went on and on.  
Cassie, however, was so disturbed by the sight of her dead friend that she didn't pay attention for a moment.  
When a tall figure was building up behind her, it was already too late to run away.

"Now I'm fed up with you!" Braston's fist hit Cassie painfully on the temple. With his hand he had grabbed her by the hair and pressed her to one of the tables.  
She tried to escape from her predicament, but he gripped her wrists with her free hand and twisted her on her back, almost pinching her bones.  
"Let me go!" she shouted. But she was helplessly exposed to the much larger man in this situation. Something wet dripped on her neck and in her ear, and she smelled the metallic smell of his blood still flowing from his skullcap.

"From here one your little game with your friends over!" he growled into her bruised face.  
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jacqui also prevented from escaping.  
So that's it. Mileena was dead, just like that. Fate had struck again.  
But Braston was not done with her yet.  
"And now I want to know which bitch hides under that mask!" Full of panic she sucked the last bit of air that still remained under the black mask. As he pressed his elbow against her head, his hand came closer to her face, ready to tear down the last barricade between the world and her hidden identity. It was all over now.

"Um, boss. I think that thing isn't dead!" He had already had his fingertips on her nasal bone when he withdrew his hand. Cassie took a short breath.  
"Such a nonsense." Braston turned away from Cassie and now fixed his colleague, who had previously shot at Mileena. "This beast is dead as a doornail!"  
"But." Cooper stammered. "It has moved the eyes! I saw it! "  
She had a premonition. And then she saw Mileena's lifeless body, unseen by everyone else, open one eye. The yellow iris with the feline pupil contracted into a slit as she fixed her surroundings and finally met Cassie's stunned look. It almost seemed she was winking.  
"Clever girl." she murmured under her breath.

A second later, Cooper also noticed what was going on. But it was already too late for him to react. Before he pulled his pistol again, the presumed-dead Mileena had risen to her feet in a fraction of a second and lunged for the man with a scream. She looked directly into the depth of her wide-open throat, every detail of her murderous teeth, the grayish tartar that had formed over the years without the simplest dental care.  
For a fraction, Cassie closed her eyes in fright, fearing that he would be next getting some body parts teared apart. A shiver ran down her spine and even though she could no longer do so, she had longed to sweat her concerns out of her face, which she was denied by the devotional circumstances.

But the next outcry from the guard made her ears prick up. It was not the usual scream of a handsome guy. He screamed as shrilly and pointedly as she knew it when ...  
She opened her eyes and wished she had never opened them. All color had gone from the man's face as he ran backwards through the casino with a deafening noise. And clearly marked in black and white by his dark suit hung Mileena, who had inevitably dug her teeth between his legs into his groin.  
The humans backed away as he desperately tried to remove the predator from his private parts. "It bites me in the balls! Take it off! Take it off, damn shit! IT HAS MY FUCKING BALLS!"

But his colleagues had all gone wild and so Cooper had no choice but to strike with his bare hands on the head of the skunk, what he had thought dead a minute ago. But Mileena was a tough chunk and didn't think of loosen her firm bite on the uncontrolled beating attack as she crushed his nuts continuously between her powerful jaws.  
Braston had to watch desperately as his troop of muscled men fled like a frightened flock of sheep. Cassie felt his grip loosen on her back for a moment, her only chance.

With a battle cry, she pulled her head away from under his arm, freeing her wrists from his grasp and grabbing his forearm.  
Braston screamed as Cassie broke his arm with a single motion. The sound of his broken bone was almost as loud as the shot that had brought down Mileena earlier.  
Cassie flung the man to the ground and jumped over him.  
In casino pure chaos had broken out. She tried to find the rest of her team among the panicked people.  
"Out of the way, miss!" Cassie whirled around as two other unconscious men crashed at her feet like huge tree trunks. She smirked slightly as Jacqui showed herself unimpressed as always. "Here's your adventure, Cage." she said, giving her a weak high-five. Her eye was bloodshot around the iris, otherwise she seemed uninjured.

"I won't book your travel agency next time, Briggs." she mumbled. Only now, she was almost pleased to see that Cooper was still struggling with Mileena. Also, for Jacqui the spectacle couldn't be overlooked.  
"Get our plush toy before she has processed all his good pieces to egg salad!" She instructed. Cassie did not lose time. She hurried to the frantic man and managed to grab Mileena by her now bristling fur. As she pulled hard on her tail, Cooper screamed even more than before.  
"Come on, let go, you scratchy brush!" Cassie snapped. She saw Mileena's ear twitch as she understood who was penetrating her from behind. The young Cage reached out with her foot and rammed it violently into his soft tissue, right next to her head, which at the same moment she relaxed her bite.

Cooper was thrown backwards to the ground. Another kick wasn't necessary. Like an infant, he writhed on the carpet with both hands between his legs. Unable to fight at first bite.  
Cassie lost Mileena in her exuberant rescue from the hands. She bounced across the floor a few feet away, then scrambled to her feet and kept running without looking back. She noticed that her body had a heavy list and clearly lost significantly in speed. But she was alive and that was the main thing.

The Guard of Bellagio was beaten. Only one had not given up yet. The skull bloody, the arm shattered and yet with a frantic look. Braston again suggested a way to her.  
She did the only thing that just came to her mind. Cassie laboriously climbed one of the biggest slot machines before the man could reach her. From below she saw his bloody hand reaching for her feet, then his head. Only with one arm, he clung to the machine, panting, completely hopeless in his situation. Their eyes met.

"This is where you fall down." she said without batting an eyelid in his face. Braston's eyes widened as he understood what was about to happen. "I hate you." he whispered. Cassie took a start and jumped over him. Directly above him, she turned on her own axis, a trick Sonya had taught her back then. Then Cassie's sneaker hit in with a single kick on the side of the head. She saw blood and saliva being squeezed out of the corner of his mouth, then the man crashed his head into the screen of the machine. The glass broke under heavy smoke. Braston did not move anymore.

More elegant than expected, she landed on her feet and looked back once more at the fallen leader. She would not miss him.  
She saw Mileena, struggling miserably through the crowds of people. Cassie rushed to her and lifted her off the floor on her arm.  
"Are you ok?" She asked. The face with the small snout looked a bit confused. No wonder, if you got hit by so many fist punches on the head. "I think so." She stammered.  
"We're getting out of here." Cassie muttered. "Somehow."

With her heavy costume Jacqui also fought her way to her friends from the other side. There was no one left who could pose a danger.  
She had seen from afar how Cassie had kicked the leader's skull through the screen of a vending machine. Only he seemed to be the biggest threat here. The rest: faders. Temporally.  
But it was also a matter of time before the police learned of the incident and stormed the building. Before that, they had to get out of here, get out of town and work out a new plan.

She saw the two and how Cassie carried the exhausted skunk in her arms. Relieved, Jacqui wanted to join them as a movement made her heart stop.  
It was the guard who had lost his fingers through Mileena's teeth, and was still unconscious on the floor by her fist a few moments ago.  
Now he crawled over the rug with his last strength, gripping something small and metallic with his remaining hand, so small that it could easily fit into the paws of a skunk. He picked it up and pointed the gun at Cassie's upper body.  
She had no time to think about what she would do. Jacqui ran over to her friend and pushed her shoulder aside. She wasn't supposed to feel any pain. A sting ran through Jacqui's neck. She immediately knew she was hit.

"Jacqui!" Cassie called in surprise. "Your performances are getting rougher; do you know that?" She didn't answer directly to her question. "What's the quickest way to get out of here?" she snarled at the skunk.  
Groaning, Mileena jumped from Cassie's arm onto her shoulder and pointed with one paw towards one of the exits. "This way!" She started running. Cassie looked surprised, but she followed them without hesitation. She could feel the persecution deep in her skin with every step. She couldn't tell the others. Not yet.

They had left the main area of the casino and wandered through the botanical garden beyond. Cassie looked around, but saw no other people to her relief. "Let me down." Mileena croaked. "I have to take a closer look." Like a hunting dog she sniffed on the ground, then suddenly jumped excitedly over the fence into the flowerbed.  
"As kids, they would have beaten the shit out of our asses." she whispered to Jacqui as she also climbed over the barrier and trampled on one flower after another.  
Splashing, her shoes settled in the artificial creek bed and soaked her socks, but she followed the swirling tail that protruded from the leaves in front of her.

"Here it is!" The skunk creaked and scratched on a kind of shaft with her paws. Cassie hurried to her side and pulled hard on the heavy cover. She stared into a dark hole, from which it smelled musty. Jacqui had also joined in, looking in disbelief into the void.  
"You want to be kidding me!" She said, irritated.

Mileena shook her head. "No, that's what the guys wanted behind us! What now?  
"Nothing! Always down in the sewer pipes!" Cassie replied, though not confidently. In response, Mileena dropped headfirst into the shaft. Far below, there was another splashing noise. Cassie and Jacqui looked at each other for a moment.  
"In her place I would have taken the ladder." Jacqui mumbled and climbed into the narrow canal. No sooner had her head disappeared than Cassie also slid through the opening and felt blindly with her feet for a few ladder rungs. When she closed the lid over her with one hand, it had finally happened. They had all managed to escape, if only barely.  
Light was sparse in the wide paved sewers. As Cassie's feet finally settled on the stony ground, she tore the mask and headband from her face and loosened her shirt. She had enough of undercover and enjoyed a bit of freedom despite the smell in the air.  
A dripping figure rose from the sewage. Mileena was all by herself again. The clothes she had borrowed from Jacqui were clinging tightly to her figure and her wet dark hair made her look like a bog body.  
Staggering, she trudged off the waist-deep water to the safe shore and shook herself extensively like a dog. Jacqui took a short step back as the drops of water splashed around her.  
When Mileena was done and her hair was more ragged than ever, Jacqui didn't waste any time getting straight on point.

"Most important first, did you destroy your headset and microchip?" In response, Mileena uttered an unhealthy burp.  
"I think that means yes." Jacqui murmured sobering, waving the musty breath away from her nose.  
"This is vegan diet for Tarkatans, you know." Cassie smirked without waiting for a direct reaction.  
"Well," Jacqui said again, "now that we're complete after a little incident, we should move as far as possible from the scene, if you know what I mean."  
"I agree with you." Cassie said. "Let's go." Their orientation had come to a standstill down here, but they couldn't afford a break. Especially Jacqui knew it. If it is true, every second that she ran through the channel count. But they didn't get far, for an awkward and serious reason.

Suddenly Mileena groaned painfully and grabbed her thigh, pulling her leg up to relieve it. "What's wrong with you?" Cassie asked, worried. Her anxiety came to a head as she took her hand off her leg. Blood was inevitably dripping from her fingers. "That scum." She hissed angrily. Then she felt like dandruff from her eyes. "Shit, he caught you?" She could force her mentor to sit down and carefully stretch out her injured leg. Even though she said nothing, her thigh cramped with pain at every touch.

"Cassie, is everything ok?" Jacqui had come back and the glow of a flashlight blinded her. Then she noticed the pool of blood, which slowly but steadily spread through the fabric. "The security has caught her. When she was shot at." she answered shortly, trying to use her knee to support her upper body. Jacqui immediately dropped to her knees beside her, yanked on her pants and examined the gunshot wound. "We have to get the caliber out of there right away." She said curtly and at short notice. "What the hell? Never, I'll be fine!" Mileena claimed horrified and confidently tried to put some weight on the leg again. However, she turned gray as ash and the escape attempt immediately stopped.

"We have no choice. Otherwise, the bullet eventually drills deeper into the muscle as you move the leg and injures your femoral artery, alternatively you get sepsis." She explained calmly but emphatically in her voice and rummaged through her backpack, which she had hidden under her cyber costume. As a specialist, she was always optimally equipped for all situations and without further ado, she adjusted her tools on the slippery stones. "Great job, Einstein." She groaned a little depressed. Jacqui gave her a sharp look. "Or do you want to lose your leg, sweetie?" With that she had finally cut the word for the former Empress. She put on some latex gloves and grabbed a narrow spreader.  
"Cassie, you need to give me some light!" She ordered.

Cassie grabbed the flashlight and tried to position the cone of light as precisely as possible over the bullet hole, which was not exactly visible in the many blood on her thigh. "Oh, and before I forget it." she added. "Yes?" Her friend asked carefully. "Make sure she doesn't bite me." she replied somewhat stubbornly. "Hey, I'm still here, too!" It sounded extremely snappy. Jacqui didn't waste another look to her unwilling patient. "Then take another deep breath. I start."

Cassie quickly realized that stroking her hands was not enough. As Jacqui squeezed the spreader into her wound, she bawled savagely and she had to throw herself with all her weight on her upper body, before worse happened.  
With her face pressed to the slippery rocks, Mileena cursed in a profound way, but Jacqui didn't let herself be distracted as she pulled a 20 cm long foreign body forceps and squeezed it deep into the wound.  
"This bullet is more tenacious than I thought." She murmured and kept twirling in the bullet hole. Time to time, she pulled the clamp out of the wound, but without the missing object.  
Cassie's sheen muscle was already cramped by the awkward position with which she had to fix Mileena's wrists on the floor.

"Can you hurry up a bit?" She gasped. The bloody operation in the sewers of Nevada took way too long now. "She rips me to shreds!" Jacqui glared at her in the light of the flashlight. "Don't annoy me otherwise ..." The body under her suddenly bucked with pain. "I hit the nerve ..."  
With full force the soldier threw herself on her back and managed to tame her.  
"Pull yourself together, Mileena. I'll got it almost! "Jacqui growled, her face wet with sweat.  
Cassie's hands began to slide, Mileena was drenched and howled like a dying wolf. Cassie closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, trying to hold her but she slipped slowly through her wet fingers. Soon she would lose her grip and this fury with her sharp teeth ...

"Got it!" She opened her eyes. A loud smacking sound rang out, followed by a last desperate cry, and suddenly it was over. Nothing moved under Cassie's body, only Mileena's ribcage lifted at irregular intervals.  
Carefully, the soldier relaxed her grip. The wrists of the Tarkatan anyway got chalk white and blue at the same time. Mileena didn't seem to be able to defend herself anyway. There was no need for it.  
Jacqui was sitting there on her knees on the dirty floor of the sewer, in her right hand the bloodstained clamp. There was something big and dull golden stuck in its barrel. The bullet. Something bloody secretion dripped from the caliber. Jacqui opened the clamp and rubbed the bullet cleanly on her pants before turning it between her fingers in the light of the flashlight.

"A .50 Action Express." she stated after a brief assessment. "Oh man, that must have really hurt."  
"You don't say!" Mileena growled irritated with her face down.  
It took a few seconds for Cassie to persuade her to sit down again.  
"Stretch your leg out again." Jacqui hurriedly wrapped a gauze bandage around her thigh. Since she had nothing left, she put the bullet in the pressure bandage to stop the bleeding.  
"You can have it. It was stuck in your leg and not mine." Jacqui muttered. "Well. Do you think you can walk?" They managed to bring Mileena back to her feet with her support. She staggered a little, bloodless. But she stood.  
"I'm fine." she grumbled. As Jacqui let go of her upper arm, she gave her a quick look with her yellow eyes. "Thank you…"

Jacqui smiled weakly. "You're welcome, crazy woman." They had no time for words. But Cassie sensed problems as she waved Jacqui's smartphone through the air. "I don't know where to go, I don't have a network down here!" But packed with new confidence, Mileena hooked past her on one leg. "Don't worry, kids. I can already smell that house."  
"Smell? Like that?" Cassie was confused.  
"I sense the same strange plant smell I had already perceived in the stairwell yesterday." she answered innocently, hurrying through the pipe as fast as she could on one leg.

Cassie and Jacqui exchanged irritated looks, but Mileena continued to give the lead.  
The soldier trusted her intuition. They couldn't be far from the accommodation anyway. Soon they saw what Mileena had smelled from half a mile away.  
"Oh no!" Jacqui moaned, staring pitifully at the carefully packaged plastic bags in the underground. "We didn't just break into a casino, we stayed at home with a drug dealer!"  
"We should better shut up." Cassie muttered. "Do not worry, Briggs. We get our stuff and are out of the city the way we got in. Come on."

 _No, Cass_ , Jacqui thought. It won't be easy. _But you don't know that yet_. She could no longer keep the secret to herself.

"I need to tell you something, Cass." Cassie cut her off, though. "Later, Jac." She squeezed through her clenched teeth as she pulled the injured Tarkatan up the ladder. "When we get out of this bullshit and back at our room, we can talk."

 _Damn it, Cage_. But she said nothing, but climbed up strained, out of the canal.  
They had actually landed right in front of their car. The streets around them were almost too calm for the conditions of a city like Las Vegas. Maybe the calm before the storm.

"Home, sweet home." Cassie mumbled happily as she slammed the door to the room and pulled off her shirt and swapped it for a black top. Mileena dropped to the bed and stared blankly at the floor. Only Jacqui went up and down the room without a break. Should she just cut it out? It was probably too late for that.  
"Cassie, if you now ..." she tried again. But Cassie was too busy with her plans. "Let's just leave the canned food here, no one notices."  
"Cass, I ..."  
"But I will not leave the teriyaki behind. Teriyaki is holy. "  
"For fuck sake!" Jacqui suddenly shouted. "Can you ever listen, Cage? We're busted and betrayed!" Cassie had to digest those words as if spooked. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

She took off her helmet and pulled on her outfit. And barely visible between the scars on her neck, there was a tiny red bump. Cassie was confused. "What does that mean?" She asked.  
Jacqui angrily threw the helmet against the wall. "Don't you get it, Cass?" Once again, she pointed to the red dot. "They caught me too! I have my own transponder under my skin!"

She swallowed and tried to keep her nerves. However it had happened, it just couldn't be right. "But they cannot locate you! They have no access to your own systems." She raised an eyebrow. "Or they can?" But she knew it. After getting into turmoil at the casino because of Mileena's headset, there was no doubt that even this microchip could be located for every ordinary radar.  
This mission couldn't get worse. Two of them were officially dead, one mentally unstable, the other completely mad. The final one shot with her own weapons.  
Without a word Jacqui sat down beside Mileena on the bed and hid her face in her hands. "Yes, they can. And they have already done it!" As an answer to this sentence, she heard it, softly and far away, but getting closer and closer. The unmistakable sound of sirens.  
"Oh shit, shit, shit!" She ran to the window and slammed it shut. Jacqui shook her head. "Forget it, Cass, it's too late for that." Cassie paused and stood unsteadily on the spot. "And what do we do now?"

Her friend also went to the window and opened it again. Cassie frowned.  
"Do you expect us to surrender?"  
"No." Jacqui said firmly. "We won't surrender." Relief spread through her, but her friend had not finished speaking yet. "Only I will."

"What?!" Cassie and Mileena had both answered at the same time.  
"That's out of question!" Cassie rumbled. Mileena, too, didn't seem to agree with the sudden change.  
To her surprise, she sprang up from the bed and balancing awkwardly on one leg.  
"You won't do anything! I will show them who's the boss!" she spat angrily and pulled out one of her sais under the jacket.

"Mileena, what the hell?" Cassie tried to force her angry friend to sit down, but Jacqui took a step forward and pressed her palm down on the head on the edge of the bed.  
"Before you even raise your arm with this thing, at least 20 bullets will shred your torso and I will not be able to pull them out this time." Uncertainty glowed in the wild yellow eyes. Mileena could be quite stubborn and her will uncontrolled. But her answer was strong.

"But I'm the only one to blame for getting ourselves into this mess! I intervened the action. And it was me who dropped that stupid gun! I owe you something!"  
The other girls seemed to be moved by her unfamiliar remorse.

"That's really touching. But ..." Jacqui closed her eyes and tried not to lose control. "What has happened, that's what happened and there's no need to risk more, plush. I already have a plan."  
The specialist turned to her best friend and reached under her suit. She pulled out a long gold medallion and threw the necklace around Cassie's neck.  
"Listen carefully, because we don't have much time left!" She explained frantically. "This is a secret portkey. This will take you directly to the territory of Shirai Ryu. It..."

"Did you not hear me?" Cassie asked, annoyed. "We won't leave you here. As a team, we can do it together!"  
"Try to understand, Cass! As long as I am with you, they will find you! And that must not happen! Not yet. You have to fulfill this mission, Cassie!" She just stood there and didn't know what to do. "Without you I cannot fulfill the mission, Jacqui. You are my teammate. And my best friend! And we will not leave you behind! Who knows what they will do to you?"

"Even a team leader has to make sacrifices. Cass, this is not about me! It's about your mission. Your destiny. Your future! And you will not be alone. But if you stay here, they will immediately put you in the pad. And." She pointed to the black-haired woman who supported her bloody leg with her hands. "They will shoot Mileena without batting an eyelid! Game over."  
"But ..." Cassie's voice broke off in the middle of the started sentence. She knew that Jacqui was right. If her story went on, her chapter in Las Vegas would have to end this way. The card deck was played to the end.

"Mileena, we need your Animality one last time!" Jacqui ordered. Without hesitation, Mileena, albeit with a sore face, issued her command. Then she turned back to Cassie. "You have to transform yourself as well, Cass! You go through the window and leave the city tonight. And once you've reached a safe area, you can activate the portal. There will be someone out there who may can help you more than an insignificant specialist like me."

"Pretty Little Liar." Cassie muttered. Gently, Jacqui stroked her hair out of her face with one finger. Usually it was an unpleasant touch on her skinned forehead, but that gesture of closeness among friends had something consoling about it. "Ladies ... it has been a privilege playing with you tonight ..." She shook her head and tried to suppress the tears. "Clearly no specialist for movie references, Jactanic."

It was time. "Now go on!" Jacqui urged. "I'll take care of them." Cassie's lips trembled, then threw herself around her friend's neck. "Thanks, J-B." She didn't get more than that. She closed her eyes. "Come on, Cass. You have to get away from here." Reluctantly, she pulled herself away from her embrace and conjured up her animality. As a graceful cougar she climbed the window sill and looked back one last time. Jacqui gave her a serious nod. She gripped Mileena's neck fur with her teeth and disappeared through the window in night of a city, whose lights would probably never die.

 **It's official now, that Jacqui will leave the group and the trio is down to two again. I feel a bit sorry but it all runs together in the end.  
Because I was asked a few times: This story won't be influenced by the new MK 11 story, that launches in nearly a week. My story is planned and structured on and on to the very final chapter. I just need time to write them all down.  
Thanks to all, who are still with me and give me support and strength during difficult times to continue the story. Bye for now! -MasterFran**


	35. Chapter 35

**Almost record-breaking.** **Now that I'm on vacation, I should make a few more chapters before the exam period starts again.** **The adventures in Las Vegas are a thing of the past. Cassie had received important information from a large survey. But an important team member is missing. How will Jacqui fare now?**

Jacqui Briggs had already put herself into many unpleasant situations. Failed communication with the Lin Kuei, almost getting her eyes scratched out by an Outworld hulk, a razor-sharp fan from an undead assassin into the guts. Being almost decapitated by an unknown killer.  
No matter what happened around her, Cassie was always there. It could be said that her best friend has this strange ability to attract dangers. But no matter what, she always managed to prevent the disaster every time and fight her way out of everything. But it was just nearly everything. They already paid high prices. Their lively style, their honor, their weapons. And today it was Jacqui herself.

She simply stared without emotion at her hands, which lay in her lap. The handcuffs were scratching uncomfortable on her wrists. What did these people think about her? Was it the fact that eight plaintiffs were now piercing her with their distressing looks like falcons, now that she was the sole culprit for a massive beatdown? Were they intimidated by her rank in the SF? For that, she was treated like scum. Nobody bothered to get under the facade of that common bad girl who risked her freedom to save her friends.

She had been through a lot, but never as humiliating as she is now. Jacqui had wanted it that way. A word about her friends and the situation would relax. But that would not happen. She would be silent, for Cassie's sake, for Mileena's sake, for the sake of her friendship.

"We now question the accused!" When the judge raised his voice, it was like a wake-up call. He was about 50 years old and refereeing the annoyed facial expression one of the fast-judgmental variety.

"Miss Jacqueline Sonya Briggs, born April 4, 1993 in Austin, Texas. Currently resident with parents in Three Rivers, Texas. Member as Specialist for weapons technology in the special forces. Are these statements correct?"

"Yes, mister." She glanced sideways at the row of seats. The face of Jax was petrified and he paid no attention to his daughter. With a stitch in her heart, she knew why. He had given her a lot of trust and she had abused it in every way you can do. She regretted it deeply, but Jacqui couldn't have told her true goals. Since she was in custody, she had had no opportunity to communicate with the outside world.  
She could only hope that Kung Jin had been silent about her plans.  
Her father had never visited her during this time. Not even trying to call. She was already guilty of him what was just hurtful.

"They are accused of the following acts: Unauthorized entry of an area not accessible to visitors, which cannot be excused by the rank of the defendants and therefore is to be regarded as a break-in. Resistance to the present security service with the result of eight-times assault. These should be classified according to the responsible physicians. You're getting familiar with that?"

"Yes, mister."

"Classified, ha!" One of the men shouted suddenly. "This woman belongs immediately locked up!"  
The judge ignored the man and eyed Jacqui again.

"Miss Briggs. You now get a chance to comment on the incident."

"My client will not be willing to comment on this incident!" announced Charles Haddock, her lawyer. They were not in front of the military court, and yet somebody had assigned her one of those suit types of the SF. Whose idea that was, she didn't know neither why he spoke for her without asking. She had never spoken to him before anyway.

"I don't force you to stand up for the event all by yourself. But then I would still allow myself to ask some final questions. If you don't want to confess to your actions, especially in terms of your inoffensive behavior, I wonder who your accomplice was?"

He tried a sympathetic way, but he was as transparent as a pane of glass. Jacqui lowered her eyes again. No words.

"You won't be able to deny that due to comprehensive statements that this act was not carried out alone. However, so far, we have not been able to identify the unknown person who was making riots in the casino with them.  
But it may be mitigating if you now cooperate and reveal the identity of this unknown."

"I will not cooperate." Jacqui muttered. _Especially not in front of you, you stupid asshole_ , she thought.

"Most regrettable. However, if there are no other offenders to investigate, then you will be the only defendants in this process to get the full penalty. I'll give you one last chance, Miss Briggs. Who is your accomplice?"

He had now leaned far over his desk and sought her gaze. He was so disgusting. He didn't care about her in the least. His protocol was more important. But he would never be able to write down the name _Cassandra Cage_.

Jacqui pierced the judge with her gaze. "I said I won't say a word, you fucking bastard!" She spat at him.  
It suddenly became very quiet in the hall. Until Jax got up angry.  
"Jacqui!" He exclaimed outraged. "What the hell are you thinking?"  
"Stop it, Jax!" Vera begged, pulling him back to the bench by his shirt. "You only made it worse!"  
Grumbling, her father settled down again and Jacqui held a close eye contact with her mother. It was nothing more than a worried look. Then the man cleared his throat on the podium.

"All right, Miss Briggs." he said with a threatening undertone. "Then I'll leave you your silence, as you wish. But at your own expense. And at the expense of your job. As reported by eyewitnesses, including the plaintiffs and despite damage in electronics, you have been carrying animals with them at the casino." She knew what would come next. And she didn't like it.

"Apart from the fact that you have violated the house rules of Bellagio. That isn't the matter of our trial. But the peculiar behavior of your skunk, Miss Briggs, admittedly made us think that this couldn't just be a common pet.  
According to reports, the injuries inflicted on the employees were more abstracted than I believe that it was an ordinary _mephitis mephitis_. Its actions seemed almost human."

He glared at the woman in front of him.  
"That's why I'd like to know your intentions and why the Special Forces are bringing such bred animals to the public."  
"Sir, please, with all due respect!" Haddock interjected. "There is no evidence that the Special Forces, except for routine operations, would use any animals for military exercises."  
For the first time, Jacqui was grateful for her lawyer, as he continued to speak.

"According to my findings the only animals listed are Doberman, Rottweiler, Malinois and English Thoroughbred. A report on the training of domesticated skunks is not available."  
The judge narrowed his eyes. "Can anyone confirm that, Mr. Haddock?"

"I can." Jacqui winced as she heard a familiar voice behind her. The judge craned his short neck and raised an eyebrow. "And who are you, if I may ask?"  
Boot steps approached and came to a halt just behind her.  
"General Sonya Blade, Special Forces, OIA." Now she had to turn around. No, she had not interrogated. Sonya was indeed behind her. Was she in the room all the time?  
Quickly, the judge bowed to her.  
"Excuse me, General! I did not recognize her." _Arse-crawler_ , Jacqui thought.  
Sonya, as always, wasn't impressed by any posturing.

"I've heard that you are accusing the Special Forces for illegal animal training."  
The judge was silent by now. So, she kept talking to him.  
"We are not just a military unit. We too have laws. As a lawyer, I don't have to quote them.  
But it is my duty to override this accusation because I see false statements as critical."  
All eyes were on the General when she announced her own verdict.

"I hereby certify that the Special Forces don't breed non-listed animals or hybrids, and don't train them or use them for criminal raids. Therefore, I represent the testimony of Mr. Haddock. Miss Jacqueline Sonya Briggs charge of having carried a trained skunk for illegal purposes, is void."

Jacqui's pulse began to accelerate. Did Sonya want to get her out of here? Their relationship hadn't suffered since Cassie's supposed death. Maybe everything would turn for the better now. But soon after she knew how wrong she was as Sonya continued.  
"I didn't come to stop her from passing sentence for Miss Briggs because I have no influence on the power of the state." She took a breath.

"If you would approve, I'd like to talk an undisturbed minute with the accused. Alone."  
The judge looked at her suspiciously, but relented. "Very well," he said. "Follow me, General."  
"Jacqui?" Sonya spoke to her soldier for the first time. Reluctantly, she accepted the request to follow her. Jacqui's feet were cold and numb from the long moments in the chair.

The women were led out of the hall into a tiny adjoining room.  
"You have 5 minutes." the judge ordered before closing the door behind Jacqui.  
She was alone with Sonya now. Still handcuffed, she stalked to one of the two chairs at a table.  
The general came in and sat down opposite her, then switched on the small table lamp.  
Jacqui was almost frightened when she saw Sonya's face. It was only a few weeks since the last time they met. It was the day before the court officially declared Cassie as dead.

Her face was pale and strange occurred. The grey eyes dropped deep into the caves, as if she had never laid to rest for weeks. Jacqui didn't know what to say. Sonya obviously not. It took a minute, then two minutes, without a single word being spoken. Only a wall clock ticked relentlessly and annoying. Then finally Sonya opened her mouth.  
"You were probably hoping that I'll get you out of here, right?" Her voice had changed. She was just authentic in the great hall, but now she sounded so vulnerable.  
Jacqui didn't answer that question but shrugged.

"No," Sonya croaked. "If they sentence you to imprisonment, even I won't be able to do anything about it. It is a pity, because I don't want to lose a good soldier. Not again." Her expression suddenly petrified. "I have failed. At all levels. I have lost the best team of the SF. I lost soldiers. I have lost my daughter."

Jacqui couldn't look her in the eye any longer. It was too personal for her. Sonya just kept talking.  
"It was all my mistake. I knew about Leatherface. My whole family had known it. And I didn't warn Cassie. I _killed_ her." Her voice was little more than a whisper. "But she's there every night. I still feel her presence by my side. Cassie cannot have disappeared. But I see her in you. In the friendship you share. You are my hope, Jacqui. The friendship. Deeper than I've ever been able to love her."

How deep was the friendship actually between them? It was not marked by the first encounter.  
At that time, they were four years old. Jacqui had demolished Cassie's favorite stuffed animal's arm, which in turn was giving her a slap in the face. Two decades later, they still laughed about their carefree days as children and their stupidities. 20 years in which Cassie influenced her life. Granted, if her father and Sonya weren't close friends, and Sonya would become her godmother, who knows what would have happened.

As the daughter of two champions, Jacqui always had a reason to be jealous of Cassie. She was ashamed of her friends for a long time, and even was called a zombie child in school.  
Yes, Cassie could be nasty with her cocky attitude, but who dared hurt her friends, she was there for you.  
Cassie was a chaos founder, then a leader. As she grew up with her new role, the friendship matured.  
From the brawls in the schoolyard to the military. And it was Cassie who encouraged her to follow in her father's footsteps, to assert herself and finally to prove herself to others as one of the best fighters of the nation. She had often risked her head for them. She had saved the world. It was more than a privilege for Jacqui to do the same for her. No matter what her words would mean for her own future. She would do anything for Cassie. Because that's what friends do.

"Is Cassie still out there? Is she alive?" She couldn't help but look into the pleading eyes of Sonya. It was the look of a desperate mother clinging to one last hope, the last hope, before her child would be lost forever.

Jacqui had to bite her lip. She wanted to blurt out everything, tell her that Cassie hadn't killed herself, that she was alive indeed and that she had best protection at her side.  
But then she thought of the promise: no one was allowed to know.  
Would Cassie even suspect how much her own mother suffered from her loss? The two never had a close mother-daughter relationship, mainly due to Sonya's fault in the past, and yet she did everything since she saw her daughter almost die twice, to bring her back to her. Would she destroy these mothers hopes for a return a third time? She had to decide: for reason or for her friend.

Jacqui took a deep breath. There would be no return after this statement. She returned her general's gaze and her eyes burned as she tried to hold back the tears. _I am so sorry for everything_.  
"No, aunt Sonya. She will never come back."

 **It was interesting to study Sonya's feelings. And to test the friendship of Jacqui and Cassie. How will it continue for everyone? I hope you come back soon!**


	36. Chapter 36

**Here we are again! I hope you had some nice days after Easter and started well in the month of May. After a few exhausting days back at the university, I finally managed to convince myself to finish the next chapter.  
I hope you are already excited, how it will continue! Have fun with Chapter 36!**

There would always be things to keep quiet about. Her supposed death, her return. They were only a tiny part in a long chain of events. Cassie didn't know if Jacqui remains silent about her actions.  
She didn't know anything, because she kept her part of the agreement:  
She won't turn around. She won't look back on what couldn't be undone.  
And she would make the best of what lay ahead of her. But it was just disorientation.

Jacqui's mysterious necklace dangled against her sternum alongside with her dog tag. She wanted more information and above all its purpose.  
Mileena had quickly solved the mystery of the secret key and opened a portal on the outskirts of Las Vegas. But it had left them in the middle of an icy wasteland. It was already too late to turn around.  
As Cassie fought the frosty wind, she brittle her head. What had Jacqui said to her before she fled? Where should she search? And what the hell is this place? She just couldn't remember.

She paused and stood with her back to the snow front. So, it was a lot more bearable. Despite the scarf and mask, her facial injury was a single ordeal. No skin, no fine hair and no subcutaneous fat could protect her sensitive muscles.  
Cassie had to stop for the seventh time in the last half-mile before she lost sight of Mileena.  
Tarkatans were anything but weatherproof and the injured leg didn't make the march easier.  
Although the cold relieved the pain, it didn't dispel the stiffness of the limbs.  
Even Mileena's bad breath seemed to dissipate in the cold, as she groaned with a white cloud of mist from the gaps in her teeth and caught up again.

"Should I carry you again?" Cassie asked, but without a trace of enthusiasm in her voice.  
Her friend looked down at her leg. A large bruise had spread over her thigh and some blood streaks adorned her skin. But the cold fortunately saved the tissue from a strong swelling.  
Besides, Mileena seemed embarrassed anyway to be carried like a small child.  
"No need for it." she growled. She vigorously hit her own fist on the cheek, whereupon several small icicles broke off from her long sharp teeth. "I can walk."

Cassie turned away from her and shuffled her feet in the snow. "Then move your ass before it freezes in the wind." she muttered irritably.  
Mileena flinched at her aggressive words. That Cage has a big mouth was nothing out of the ordinary, but she noticed that something was different with her.

"What's wrong with you, Cassandra?" Cassie stubbornly avoided her gaze. "Nothing." she mumbled dully. She raised an eyebrow. "Don't lie to me. You like to think I'm stupid, but I'm not always."  
Suddenly Cassie spun around as if she was about to give her a clamp.

"That shouldn't have happened, ok? This whole plan backfired!" she exclaimed angrily.  
She thought of Briggs. Of course, she wasn't wrong and Mileena knew that she had contributed unintentionally to the unfortunate initial situation.

But she thought of Jacqui's last message to her, as Cassie's protector. Take care of her and continue the mission.  
"You found Black. And you've squeezed out information from him. You did, right?" she checked.  
It didn't seem to soothe Cassie.  
"Maybe. But that doesn't help Jacqui now. That's all my fault that she was arrested! If only I didn't involve her!" Frustrated, she stared at her hands as if reflecting on her previous actions. "If only that wouldn't have happened to me." she muttered.  
Then she drove back to her and started another attack.

"Why didn't you just stay up there?" Now Mileena was a little bit attached to her behavior. She shot back bitingly and purposefully.  
"I saved your buts, kid!" She squinted. "And yours already a second time."  
Cassie frowned angrily. Of course, she was right. If it weren't so damned unfair, they wouldn't be in the middle of nowhere in the cold and a continuing plan in intangible proximity. She would like to stick her head in one of those snowdrifts and scream.  
But that wouldn't help her either. Nobody could right now.

Mileena left the soldier to her self-pity. There was still a long way to go before they could come down to earth again. The unknowable mountains occupied her more at this moment.

"I don't like this here." she grumbled. She felt a soft crack under her soles. She walked a little slower, aware of her surroundings, while Cassie struggled unblinkingly through the snow. It had to be 80 cm by now. Moving the wounded leg cost her an unimaginable effort with each step.  
She saw irregularities appear in the snow. Strange dents where the snow seemed to slip in the depths.  
It certainly wasn't wrong to avoid it.  
Outworlders aren't familiar with snow and were anything but adapted to the climate.  
A Tarkatan just didn't belong in the ice-cold mountains.

And then she heard it. Her left ear twitched attentively as a sound hit her eardrum. It came softly and purring, then suddenly faster and finally with a thunderous inferno.  
"Cassie?" She called. She had already stopped and turned also worried to the mountain slope, from whose direction the sound came closer and closer.  
Her eyes widened. "Avalanche!" She screamed in panic. Then Mileena saw a huge wave of snow, boulders and ice breaking over the edge of the mountain. Right on her.

"Jump, now!" She shouted. Then she got caught by the snow slip like a herd of wild horses and it tore her off the feet.

Cassie heard the warning just in time. With all her might, she pushed herself out of her stance and was carried away by the avalanche. She faintly remembered days past her training and what the coach had taught her.  
"Swim with the avalanche or you're dead!" She closed her eyes and held her breath as she rowed wildly with her arms to keep from the heavy mass of snow. Once swallowed, that would be her certain death.

It only took a few seconds, but for the soldier it was like a torture for hours against snow and ice to fight.  
Just as it emerged, the noise around her suddenly stopped. Everything was quiet, even the wind.

Trembling, Cassie rose from the snow and fingered her clothes. She had done it. But when she looked around, the blood in her veins just froze even more than it already was.  
Pure chaos had erupted around her. In a wild confusion lay huge boulders and large fragments of ice.  
Even worse. The avalanche had exposed huge crevasses, the next only a few feet away from her. If she had fallen in there, it would have been over.  
Then she suddenly realized that someone was missing.

"Mileena?" She called loudly. There was no answer. Her heart tensed. She looked around to all sides, but it was hopeless.  
"Oh no." She realized that the last warning call might have killed her. Surely, she lay there somewhere, hopelessly suffocated by the masses of snow or buried under a boulder and slain. Was that really her end?  
Something stung her suddenly. She had to squash them hard against the glaring white of the snow. But there it was again. A pink flash of light. No more than 20 meters from her.  
Carelessly Cassie jumped up and punched through the snowfield.  
"Mileena, where are you?" She shrieked. She still had to be alive. As she fought her way to the sighting place, a dull sound came. Right under her feet.

Quickly she dropped to her knees and shoveled the snow aside with her bare hands until she hit something hard. She wiped with her sleeve. She stood on a solid ice surface. There was something moving under her. Her heart made a jump.

"Mileena, are you there?" She put her ear to the cold surface. A hollow thump sounded and another flash of light flashed. Then she finally heard her voice.  
"I cannot understand you!" Oh, thank to the heavens! She was alive. She couldn't hear her either. Mileena's croak sounded strangely consumed. Which was probably due to her predicament.

"That's enough answer for me! Are you hurt?" She screamed as loud as she could against the thick ice.  
"No. But I'm trapped. And I cannot hold onto the wall for much longer!" Then Cassie realized.  
Mileena was torn into one of the crevasses. As if that wasn't bad enough, this block of ice, hard as concrete, blocked her way to freedom.  
She wiped more snow aside, but the ice was huge. Too big to push it from the opening.

"I cannot move the ice plate!" She finally reported.  
"Try the claws!" Did she really think that would help? But she had to try. A warm fur probably wasn't that wrong.

Only a short moments later she had rose up on four paws over the ice. With claws extended, she now hit the frozen surface. It hurt in all phalanges. But no matter how many times she tried, the few scratches she made were just not enough.  
"No chance." She finally gasped. "Do you see another exit?" There was no answer.  
"Mileena?" She asked again. But her blurred form under the ice had disappeared.  
Now her worries grew again. Was she looking for another escape route? Or had she fallen dangerously deep into the crevasse?

She made a decision "I'm looking for another way out. Hold on!"  
She didn't know if Mileena could still hear her. She just hoped she would made it.

A walk on four paws eased her as she jumped across the snowfield. Before that she memorized the place deep in her mind. Shouldn't she find Mileena later, that would mean her death sentence.  
She turned to the sky with great concern. It was quiet, but another storm was brewing in the distance. He would bring more snow and bury everything alive.  
Carefully, she balanced along the edges of the neighboring crevasses, but to her disappointment, each was spilled with snow and boulders and impassable for an escape tunnel. She needed a different plan.

She continued to walk uphill until she approached the cliffs. She didn't know what to do. Push a few stones from the slope? That could be fatal, for both of them.  
She realized that she won't be able to do it on her own. But she was already struggling with another problem.

A particularly intense stream of air brushed her ear. Cassie curled her lips. She sensed the emerging danger even before she turned around.  
But then a long blade just passed her head and pierced the rock with its red-hot shaft.

Instinctively, she rolled to the side, through the snow until she had contact with the paws on firm ground.  
The young Cage jumped with a powerful set on the ledge and turned to all sides.  
No sign of her attacker. Who was it? Where was he going? Her ears twitched wildly as Cassie tried to play with the direction of the wind.

The clicking of small boulders made her eyes shoot up. In fact, through the haze, she saw a hooded figure, about ten feet above her.  
Cassie felt the rock against her back, she was trapped. Something flashed in the hands of the unknown.  
But she was prepared when the next sword was about to hit her head.

Cassie jumped out of her hiding place and landed on the rocky ledge to her left. Her claws scratched the granite like fingernails on a blackboard, but with all her strength she managed to keep her cat's body vertical.  
Involuntarily, another scene came to her mind. How Braston at the casino tried to rip her off the slot machine. Unlike her unloved guard, she didn't have a broken arm. And it would repeat the event with a new result.

There was only one try. With a last battle cry, she reached out with the right paw and pushed it with extended claws over the edge.  
Cassie couldn't see, but she felt her sharp claws digging through fabric into flesh.  
She heard a surprised outcry. As she turned, the unknown lost his balance and tipped over the edge.

As he fell into the depths, his weight tore Cassie off the rock face.  
Like a flash it hurt her toes painfully, as two claws wedged in the stone and were pulled out.  
She lost the grip on his leg and dived into the depths together with the person.

There were certain advantages to being a cat. The thick fur protected against the icy wind, the hearing exceeded the human and most importantly: You always land on your feet.  
Almost fleet-footed she put her four paws in the snow. Her weight made her sink a little, but she was safe and ready to attack.

Her aggressor had landed on the back and still gasped for air in the snow. Before he managed to straighten up, Cassie had already plunged onto the armored upper body and nailed him with bared teeth onto the ground.

A pair of brown eyes met her gaze as he tried in vain to push her powerful paws from his shoulders.  
His pale face was too veiled to determine his identity. But this problem could be eliminated.  
With a single clean stroke she tore the mask from his mouth and nose. She watches as it swirls in a snowdrift and disappears.  
Then, with a growl, she turned back to the victim under her claws. But then the threatening sound in her throat stopped and she automatically loosened her grip in complete surprise.

"I think I went crazy!" She gasped, jumping off her upper body.  
The warrior's eyes widened as he straightened and stumbled backward.  
"But, how ..." He stared at the cougar. "How is that possible?"  
He must have recognized her. Maybe the voice. The dog tag would also be a possibility. The human eyes might have betrayed her. Or he just knows, because a telepath like him can.

"It's true, Takeda." she finally said, straightening out of the snow, this time back in her human form.  
She couldn't help but smiling. "But you'll have to practice before we fight each other again." she teased.  
The young Chujin just shook his head in disbelief. It really was him. There she was, far from any human soul, and it was an absolute miracle to meet her teammate in the midst of a blizzard. He just seemed speechless just like her.

"I knew, something is wrong with that big cat!" Panting, he helped his teammate back on her feet. "Known or read, Takahashi?" He tapped the snow off the cloak. "Probably both, Cass. For a moment, I was sure I'd lost my mind."  
She grinned. "At some point it would have hit you too." Carelessly she threw herself into her friend's arms. He hugged her back, relieved to find his best friend alive.  
When he let her go, his big eyes were still full of concern. "Where have you been all this time? What happened?" She took a step back.

"Didn't Jacqui reach you? She said she would inform the whole team about my ... return." Takeda looked perplexed. "Master Hanzo and I were away for several weeks. I didn't have a phone with me." He waved his hand. "Not important." The young warrior glanced past Cassie into the gray nowhere. "Where's Jacqui?" Cassie bit her tongue, her lower lip too sensitive to pain. Takeda must have read her mind that something was wrong.  
"Where's Jacqui, Cass?" He asked again. She hung her head. "She's not here, Tak. We had to leave her behind, in Las Vegas." He didn't seem to understand. "Left her behind? I don't understand…"

"She wanted to allow us to escape and had faced the police all alone. She gave me that." She reached under her jacket and pulled out the heart-shaped medallion. Takeda carefully took it in his hand.  
"She gave you our amulet." he muttered. "I made it secret so she can always come to me when she feels lonely."

Cassie took the necklace off her neck and left it to her teammate. "Then I think it's best if you have it back with you." _You dog_. Should he read her mind? He seemed to know more, though.

Takeda suddenly touched his forehead. "You are not alone here, Cass." he said.  
She looked at him in surprise. He looked nervous. "Quick, Cassie. Follow me! "He hurried off, through the snow toward the crash site where Mileena was still trapped under the ice.  
She breathed with relief and followed him. She had already feared that she owed him many explanations. But she was happy too soon.

The new onset of snow had almost completely covered the crevasse again. But she found the place. Cassie dropped to her knees and frantically wiped the snow off the ice.  
But she couldn't see Mileena.  
"What are we going to do, Tak?" She asked. When she looked up at him, he had his eyes fixed on the massive ice wall. He seemed to think hard.

"I'll take care of this." he said. "You get out of the way when I blow the wall."  
This statement almost made her lost her mind. "Blow the wall?!" She repeated uncertainly.  
"The ice is massive enough to close the crevasse." he mumbled. "And destroy what's lurking down there, once and for all."

"What?!" She exclaimed. Takeda still didn't seem to understand.  
"Damn Cassie!" He snapped. "I don't have to see her to know! Mileena has returned!"  
What had become her normality was a shocking event for him.  
"Let's eliminate her before she can attack us!"

Cassie dug her fingers into the cold slab of ice, not knowing what happened to Mileena, meters below her feet. "Sometimes I wish you really read my thoughts." she finally said. Takeda squinted. "I do. But your thoughts seem a bit crazy."

"I'm not crazy, you idiot!" She snapped back at him. "You cannot kill Mileena!"  
"Then I'll leave her to nature!" Takeda growled. "Mileena is a traitor! Why should I help her?"  
His brown eyes glared at her. "I may be a telepath, Cass. But what kind of a game do you play with me?"

She has been confronted with the same question before. When Jacqui made her acquaintance with Mileena after her sudden return, she became suspicious. But now it was different. Mileena was trapped under the ice. If Takeda refused to help her, she would freeze to death in the next few hours.

"I'll explain everything to you, Tak! But I implore you! Get her out of there!" She scratched the ice with her fingernails and turned around again. "She is still injured. She cannot do it alone!"  
 _Please_ , she thought, with the pray in her mind that only he could read. _Please_.

He sighed. "Take a few steps back, Cass." She didn't move yet. The hardness in his eyes broke a little.  
"It's ok." he said. "I won't hurt her."  
Slowly, she rose from her position and walked behind her friend.  
Takeda pulled a long blade from his cloak and aimed straight at the ground beneath his feet.  
His Ronin-Sword cut through the thick sheets of ice like a knife through warm butter.

A warm breeze reached her face and took something of the unruly cold. The blade was so hot that it burned a big hole in the ice. Mileena's way was clear.  
Cassie hurried forward and leaned over the hole. On the walls of the crevasse, she saw deep notches, marked by the sharp fingernails and the sais, when she tried to hold herself to the surface.  
But she was no longer visible. Cassie got sick.

"Mileena!" She called into the depths of the cave. Her voice echoed in a long chorus. "Are you there?"  
It took a few seconds, then she thought she saw a pair of amber eyes flash out of the darkness.  
"Suck in your guts!" Mileena roared from the bottom. Cassie leaned deeper over the gap.  
"What?" She screamed even louder.  
"Get back!" A hand grabbed her from behind and pulled her away from the edge. Just in time. Like a fired bolt, something shot just past her head, followed by a magenta mist train.

There was a dull sound as Mileena, wrapped in her high-energy fog, hit the snow.  
She straightened and shook the flakes from her hair like a wet dog. "Yuck, I hate snow!" She cursed, running her tongue over her teeth. Cassie hurried to her.

"Are you crazy, woman?" She scolded. "That could have gone in the eye!"  
Mileena grinned mischievously. "Don't say, you start to care about me." She determined. Cassie pulled a pout. "Pah, care about you? Fangface!" She chuckled "Don't try to deny."

There was no denying. She was relieved that she was well. It was the second time that Mileena had risked her life for her. It wouldn't be the last time.

"Mileena, the former Empress." She looked up at Takeda, who now turned to raven-haired woman and studied her with a searching look. Mileena returned his look unimpressed.  
"I beg you, little boy. Not so many formalities." She said casually. Takeda didn't answer, but his face relaxed. He was still a long way away from trusting her. But his senses shouldn't deceive him and show that under the skin and the sharp teeth was now a good core and no threat.

"I don't understand why the amulet brought you here." he finally said. It was no surprise. Cassie didn't know either. Why in the deepest mountains, in icy temperatures?  
Black couldn't have meant this place to continue their search.  
But now she was struck by dandruff. The only reason Jacqui had hung a heart-shaped amulet on her neck as her last act before her arrest.

"Probably, because you are our only hope."

 **Yes, Takeda is back! Still a pity that he didn't show up in MK 11 (only cameo), but now he can prove his qualities and help Cassie on her difficult mission.  
I hope to see you again soon! Can we get the 15 fav and 20 followers? I am happy about everyone who is there and thanks to all the loyal readers!  
Greetings from MasterFran**


	37. Chapter 37

**I am back again. I am very sorry that I had to delay the next chapter for so long. The semester is on the home stretch, and not all exams are written yet.  
I have already spent several nights sleeping on the laptop. But after some delays, I finally managed to finish chapter 37. It's unintentionally the longest chapter yet. Greetings go out to Julio71971 who motivated me in the hardest time of exam-frustration and to all those who had feverishly on this chapter. I wish you much fun.**

It was still hard to believe, but the duo again became a trio. This time with male reinforcement.  
After the strong avalanche, it was finally quiet on the mountain, only the storm had not settled yet.  
With the scarf firmly on her face, she followed the dark figure of her team-mate Takeda, who safely led her out of the dangerous glacier zone. Without him, she and Mileena probably wouldn't have survived their mountain trip.  
"How did you find us after all?" She asked after finally leaving the deadly area behind. Takeda had to shout a bit louder to drown out the blizzard.  
"Probably not a complete coincidence," he admitted. "I sensed that the portal was activated via the amulet. Since I couldn't explain why Jacqui wanted to go to the clan due these weather conditions, I went on the search. And then suddenly there was this big cat.  
Normally, the animals' thoughts are unknowable to me, but I saw something human in this fearless predator. I thought I was crazy when it turned out you had the gift of animality." He shook himself. "What happened during the time?" He mumbled. "Why are you fraternized with Mileena? We both saw her die before our feet."  
She sighed. "It's a long story. But for short: I had to get free of my own thoughts, I think. Well, it suddenly turned out that there was another resident on Shang Tsung's island when I stranded there. I suppose I would never have returned alive to Earthrealm without her."

"She didn't try to kill you?" He asked suspiciously. "Well, not directly." she admitted. It was no mystery to her, that he was the next one who doesn't trust Mileena. He will know better soon enough. "I was as confused as you are now. But what does it matter? I'm back in buisness. And I am glad that I found you. Jacqui recently said that you were traveling with Master Hasashi and are not on duty?"

"It was a relief to stay away from the SF for a few days. But had nothing to do with Gregory, because ... oh." He broke off briefly, as if he had said something embarrassing. "I'm sorry, but you cannot know that ..."  
"I'm already aware that General Mama Blade had to get a replacement for me, thanks." she said shortly. Takeda still thought it was unpleasant. "I'm really sorry for you, Cass."  
She raised an eyebrow. "What can you do for it?" She replied a little sharply. "I cannot change it anyway."

"You could." he said. "Really, Cassie! Why are you entrenching yourself here in the Himalayas? There is no reason for you to hide. When you return ... "  
"I can't." she said. "You know that." He walked a little slower until he was at the same time with her. "You mean, I could know it. But I want to hear it from your mouth, not from your thoughts."  
She blew up her cheeks angrily. "I have to continue my mission. Besides, I have Mileena on the cheek. The SF would only recruit her as a bioweapon unless they shoot her right away. "  
He seemed surprised. "And General Blade? She would ... "  
"My mom would never forgive me for what I did to her with my "death"."

"How do you know that?" Takeda insisted. It started to annoy her slowly but surely. "I know how she's ticking. I do not need telepathic skills for that. "She did not want to talk about her mother any longer. The more she responded, the more she realized how much she wished to go home. But she had to replace it for the benefit of all people.  
Quickly she turned to Mileena. "How's your leg doing?" She asked, just to stop the conversation with her teammate. "Dead frozen." she replied soberly. "Just as I am."

"We are as good as there." Takeda shouted encouragingly. "The clan settlement is in the valley behind this hill."

The fire gardens were not as beautiful in winter as Cassie had remembered them last summer, but she hadn't believed in seeing the headquarters of Shirai Ryu in her life again anyway.  
Dawn was already starting as they passed the Warrior village.  
"Where are they?" Cassie asked, turning to each side.  
"Sunset training." Takeda replied. "I'll get you to my house quickly before the others leave the dojo."  
She raised an eyebrow. "Your house?" The young warrior laughed. "You'll see, Cass. I've been promoted."

He had his last stay with three other clan brothers and only consisted of cots and a battered TV.  
The TV was still there, only the new property he now occupied was overwhelming.  
The snow was slowly melting from her clothes as Cassie looked around in amazement in his new house.  
"Make yourself at home." Takeda said. "I have my bedroom up there." He pointed to a wooden staircase that led to the attic, then back to the large room in front of them. "Kitchen, bathroom. It is all there. And the big sofa." He led her over to his own fitted kitchen, only Mileena limping halfway down the path to the large fireplace, whose fire provided a cozy warmth.

Takeda ignored her and shoved two pizza boxes at Cassie. "They are probably already a bit cold, but still completely edible. I hope so." He glanced sideways at Mileena, who had curled up in front of the open fire.  
"Don't worry." Cassie mollified him. "She won't eat us."  
"If you say so." He yawned loudly. "I'm going upstairs now. And you need rest. "  
She couldn't help but hug him again. "Thank you Tak. I don't know what I would have done without you." He briefly returned her hug. "That's obvious, Cass." he muttered. "I'm glad if I can contribute. Good night."

Takeda broke away from her and vanished in the direction of the stairs. Cassie grabbed one of the pizza boxes and shambled over to the fireplace, where she dropped beside Mileena.  
"Are you feeling better?" She asked tentatively. She blinked something. "Not so cold, but." She stretched out her injured leg. Now that the icy wind didn't cool it, the swelling was on the rise again. "Let me see." Carefully, she unwrapped the wet bandage and removed the compress from the wound. It was swollen by the moisture and foamy wound fluid leaked from the bullet hole.

"We have to let it dry up tonight." she finally said. "Does it hurt bad?"  
"As if someone was threshing my thigh with a hammer." she pressed through half-closed lips. But a solution was in sight. "Wait here." Cassie jumped up and hurried into the bathroom. She had to tear open some doors and drawers before she found the medicine. After some digging, she found a vial of Ibuprofen tablets. She was undecided. Do half-Tarkatans tolerate the drug? However, since Mileena ate almost everything, she took the pills and hurried back to the fireplace. She unscrewed the lid and pressed the container into her hand.  
"Here, that helps." she said. Mileena eyed the tablets briefly, then she suddenly put the edge to her lips and dumped the entire contents into her throat.

"Damn it, Mileena, not all in at once!" She screamed, startled. "Hm?" Mileena didn't seem to have understood the situation yet. Cassie urgently needed tutoring. "You take a maximum of one pill! A whole glass will kill you!" She grabbed her a bit ungently at the back of her head. "Come on. Spit it out!"  
Frustrated, the woman spat the already loosened tablets back into the glass. Cassie quickly closed the lid and shook it slightly. Thick saliva threads run down the inside. Better not put them back in the shelf.

Mileena was still unhappy. "That tastes disgusting." she grumbled and drove like a cat with her tongue over the own arm several times. "And it's not helping."  
"Don't complain about anything, numpty." Cassie pointed out. "It takes a few minutes for the effect to occur. Better you get rid of your wet clothes before you fetch a cold. "  
She went back to the bathroom at the laundry basket. Because they didn't have anything, except what they carried on the body. Takeda shouldn't mind if she borrowed his boxer shorts and T-shirts.  
She wasn't for long in the bathroom but when she came back, Mileena was already sitting in underwear on the carpet, rocking herself in half sleep. That was quicker than she thought.

"Are you getting drunk?" She joked, throwing the T-shirt on her head. "Hm." She murmured. Cassie left her to herself and dropped onto the sofa between the blankets.  
It was a feeling of security, but the more she let herself sink in, the more she remembered the person she had last shared a bed in Las Vegas with. It had only been a day and already her life had turned upside down again.

Her eyes burned slightly as she imagined where Jacqui was now. Did they absolve her? Or did she end the night in a cell labeled as a criminal? And all this just to protect her freedom. For it, her best friend had given up her own.  
And now there was Takeda, another of her closest friends. How far would she go before she endangered him? Because alone she had no chance.

The blanket next to her moved as Mileena, in her T-shirt and dinosaur-printed boxer shorts, lying down next to her on the edge of the sofa and immediately closing her eyes.  
Before she knew it, Cassie had her upper body on her back.  
"Hey." she complained grudgingly in half asleep. "You're affectionate today, you know." The soldier ignored her and turned to the side instead. So many thoughts went through her mind.

"I'm afraid that more people will risk their freedom for me." she just muttered quietly. Mileena opened one eye but didn't look at her.  
"Quite possible. But maybe you'll realize how many friends you have who would actual risk their lives for you." Her eyes darkened. "Who would ever have done that for me."  
Cassie didn't answer. It wouldn't be right to say that she would be willing to risk her life for her. Not as long as she didn't have her own under control.

She was still clutching something she always kept close to her. The notebook. She opened it and squinted in the light of the dying fire. The last entry was probably over 40 years ago. Until she decided to continue it. Her notes were barely legible, but the story still echoed in her mind.

It was time to start it from its true origins.

 _"The oldest person in the world was 122 years old, according to Wikipedia. But that's bullshit. Leatherface is still alive. According to my calculation, he would now be around 190 years old. The legends are true, but they seem unrealistic, as well as the likelihood of finding a witness.  
_ _But there is him._ _Black must be the same age, but at most he looks like he was in his early 40s. He would never tell me how he did it. Does it matter for this mission? Perhaps. But he revealed something fundamental to me that neither my grandfather nor my ancestors of that time knew. Black is the author of the myth, this legend. He was friends with Leatherface. They were like brothers, he and a boy named Thomas Hewitt.  
I am now probably the only person who has ever experienced his story._

 _With Hewitt something seemed to be wrong even as a child. Black reported states that were hallucinogenic. To have thoughts of murder as a child is totally crazy.  
He killed his first victim at the age of 13, at an age when I had played Gameboy on the playground with my friends. He did not do it with a hammer, a firearm or a knife. He dissected the manager of his parents with a chainsaw. Was it the same that would torn my gut more than 150 years later?  
His family seemed to control him. No one knew the Hewitt clan, not even Black. Pork butcher. But did they also have people on their conscience?  
Black took him away from his home, emigrated, trying to build a new life._

 _He hoped it would heal his best friend in a certain way. But he seemed to carry a cruel legacy. Drayton. Drayton's chilli. The words of a madman. But I fancy that I had heard it myself when he tried to slaughter me.  
But Black insisted that not even Hewitt himself knew what his messages meant. It sounds demonic. Probably that's what it is when I think of his girlfriend.  
She was described in detail to me. I thought every time: is he talking about me? A woman named Magdalena Cassandra Crane. It's not just almost like me. My Blade-ancestor had also mentioned her in these documents. Nobody could tell me who she really was. But it was clear to me. She might not cause my attack, but she was the bomb of the chain reaction of events._

 _She disfigured her partner and fled. It not only made Thomas outwardly a monster. He didn't seem to be the same anymore. Was this love so great that he outlived his normal lifespan? Would he never have given up until he found me there, in my base? I cannot say it.  
Erron Black is certainly not my BFF. I don't know him, but since losing his best friend, his past life, he seems to have confided in no one else. He lived a life as an outcast, as a mercenary and for many employers.  
He knows no good and no evil. It lasts a long time. Why did he invent the legend and put it in front of the Blade-clan? Why did he tell me his story? Maybe he went through the same fate as me. We looked for both answers and didn't get them.  
I trust his words. Whatever happened in the night of Ivanhoe. Magdalena is the key to everything. Black killed her or, as he said, freed her from corruption. It makes everything even more mysterious.  
Her body is gone. Her soul is gone. Nevertheless, I will find her. She was collected. 1000 souls and no way out."_

 _1000 souls._

 _1000 souls._

Again and again she wrote one and the same word line by line until she reached the bottom of the paper. 1000 times written and 1000 times nothing happened. Frustrated, Cassie threw the pen behind her and turned on her back. Mileena's back under her head lifted and fell gently as she slumbered undisturbed.  
Cassie crossed her arms over her stomach, staring impassively at the ceiling. She was supposed to be sleeping, but the matter did not leave her peace while the events raged in her head.

"What use are 1000 souls if I don't know what to do." she mumbled. The darkness gave her no clue. No vision of Raiden giving her a direction. Only Mileena suddenly started talking in her sleep. Cassie turns on her side again and studies her face. She had her head dug in the elbow and eyes closed tight. In fact, the drooling in her sleep, she didn't seem to have under control.

She watched intently as her jaws moved slightly as she mumbled something incomprehensible. Not even a translation app could decipher her words now.  
Was it just a dream? Or nightmares, just like hers? She remembered Sonya telling how she had been screaming in her sleep night after night, demolishing the walls and beating her fists bloody. Only a mother could obviously feel what her child was going through, as unattainable as she was in the dream world. Even a mother like Sonya Blade.

Mileena was the opposite. She knew her past, and yet she doesn't. During the day showed a side that she had rediscovered only with her rebirth. But what dreams did she discover at night? She noticed that the longer she watched her sleep, the harder her own eyes became. She closed her eyelids.  
If there's a way to somehow look into your little brain and know what's going on there inside.

It was as if a previously non-existent light had risen. Cassie suddenly opened her eyes.  
Maybe there was this one possibility already! You just needed someone who could do the impossible. And she had already found one whose ways had miraculously crossed with her in the icy wasteland of the Himalayas. Now everything made sense. Now she knew that Takeda could play a crucial role in this mission.  
Excited, she pulled her arms behind her head and accidentally pushed her elbow into the ribs of her sleeping friend. Her murmur became a sleepy growl, then dug her head further into the crook of her arm.  
Cassie smiled insidiously. "Sweet dreams, Lenny. Tomorrow, let us dance. In our minds."

Brilliant light streamed through the windows, tickling her eyes. By the time Cassie's eyelids lifted, another day had actually dawned. With relish, she turned on her stomach and dug her head deep into the pillows again. She had not slept so well in days. No nightly car rides, no escape, no nightmares.

She stretched extensively, having the whole sofa for herself now. Mileena had already made off again. Cassie, too, now peeled off the blankets and stretched her joints, especially her knee, that under her scars was more plastic and metal screws than cartilage, thanks to Leatherface. But she tried not to think of that.  
Suspected of finding her friend in the kitchen, Cassie went first there, yawning all the way. No trace of a tarkatan anywhere. But she seemed to have already found the food while she was still asleep. Her foot hit the ground against a tinny object.

She stared down, picked it up and smelled the can. Worst idea ever. "Uargh!" The smell of fermented Baltic herring burned her nose hair all the way to the sinuses. Luckily, she hadn't had breakfast yet; she would otherwise have vomited it right back. That this Tarkatan woman could even eat something like that. But her overwhelming hunger seemed to have a creative impact on her taste buds. But why it should surprise her, after swallowing rats in one go? "You can be really disturbing, Mileena." she murmured, throwing the stinking tin into the sink, right next to an eroded tuna and other empty canned food.

The kitchen was a mess. She could only hope that Takeda had not gotten up or had already left for practice. Another slobbered full-sized fish lay across the stove. Disgusted, Cassie grabbed the slimy thing by the tail. She hated fish over everything. She hated Takeda for not having anything but fish in all variations, from raw to rotten. Should she ever see Jacqui again, she should speak a serious word with her boyfriend.

After Mileena had vigorously clogged the kitchen drain and plundered the trash cans, she made her way to the bathroom with the fish overruns to get rid of the first stains from the kitchen in another way.  
But when she opened the bathroom door the next shock was already waiting for her. As if somebody had blown a wale carcass in the bathtub. At least as far as the fishy smell and the red-brown spots on the white tiles were concerned. And in the middle of this mess, balancing with one leg in the sink and completely filthy ...

"What will it be when it's done?" Cassie shouted still standing at the door. Mileena was so shocked that she almost slipped on the floor. With the last of her strength, she managed to hold onto the shower curtain, but her sharp fingernails left big holes in it. Mileena had already proved in Las Vegas that she and shower curtains didn't harmonize.  
"What does it look like?" She snapped back. Only now did Cassie see the large canister with the inscription "Povidone-iodine, 10%" standing on the floor next to the toilet. What at first looked like she had had an accident shaving her legs was an even stupider action to disinfect her wound. She looked skeptically at the tool with which she was drilling in her shot hole. "Are you using Takeda's toothbrush?!" She prompted with a raised eyebrow.

Mileena shrugged. "Oh really? Well, you can clean it again." Completely uninhibited, she opened the toilet lid and put the toothbrush a few times in the water, before she put it yellowish-faded and as neatly as never back in the mirror cabinet. "You see? All shiny and new."  
"Ah, sure." She shook her head. "How do you even know what you're using as a disinfectant?" Cassie's eyes fell on a second canister, however, which contained highly alkaline pipe cleaner. If she had rubbed her under the skin, then good bye. Mileena's yellow eyes narrowed. "I know what iodine is and how to handle it. Or do you think I'm imbecile?"

"Oh no, certainly not me." she mumbled. Only now did Mileena notice the fish in her hand. "Sorry, I think I've eaten them all." Mileena apologized quickly.  
"What a pity, the sight had made me so hungry for a decent breakfast." Cassie replied with obvious irony. She threw the first fish into the toilet with a loud splash, the second she slapped into Mileena's oversized racks.

"So, now that you have your mouth full and a real lady doesn't talk with her mouth full." She had to resist a laugh. "Well, you shouldn't talk now anyway, fish-face. Cause I have a little task for you."

The sharp whip cut through the air with the speed of a jet. With one hit Takeda first struck his dummy's arms and with a swipe decapitate it.  
"Hm, he's good." Mileena hissed. From a safe distance, she and Cassie watch the young warrior making a whole series of training dummies into slices in the neighboring dojo. Cassie had to admit how good he had become and how the hell she had managed to overwhelm him in the mountains. That brought her back to the actual plan.

"I can understand if he's one size too big for you." Cassie said. She had to incite her, and it seemed to work. "The kid?" She snapped. "That's not a challenge for me." Cassie poked her ribs. "Then show me, if you are still able to fight with your fish fat."  
"What? Now?"

"Right now!" Another voice called. They both jumped when Takeda turned to face them. Mileena seemed to be speechless for a moment. "But how could you...?" She stuttered. Takeda was strangely calm. "... notice that you've watched me train for 13 minutes and 34 seconds?" He tapped his forehead. "I can read minds, remember?"

"But not from an Outworlder!" She shouted in shock. He sighed. "Who tells such a shit?" He went into a fighting position. "But you can try to convince me otherwise, Ms. Ex-Empress." He had caught her on a sore spot. And that was very good. Cassie's heart began to pound. Takeda might be a telepath, but he still didn't seem to understand her intentions. But now it all came down to his cunning.

Mileena got ready to attack like a trained fighting dog. It came to a last challenging change of perspective, then the fury jumped with a battle cry towards Takeda.  
But before she could carry out her attack, it was already clear that she had made a fatal mistake. Fatal gastight overweight. But who was stupid enough to eat rotten herring for breakfast?  
Mileena's first attack came so slowly that the warrior lightly raised his arm and blocked the strike without difficulty. "What was that?" He provoked. "You fight like the tuna that's just stagnating in your stomach."

"Your provocations won't save you, little boy!" She hissed. Suddenly she grabbed her leg as if the injury was too overpowering. Takeda eased his attack, believing she was unable to continue this fight. A bad mistake.  
Instead of her leg, she had suddenly grabbed her sai and whirled it around. Takeda screamed and stumbled back with his hands in front of his face. As he lowered his hand, Cassie saw with a queasy feeling that she had split his nostrils in a perfect blow.  
"Hey, that was fake!" He snapped. She chuckled. "Do I look like fake?" He growled angrily at this superiority. "Come on, Tak!" Cassie called to him. "Stop fighting like a girl!" She just came to her point. "Turn off her lights! I mean her thoughts!"

He did as he did with the warder on the ship when Kotal Kahn locked the hole team into the tiny cells. Back then, the young man tipped over easily on his eye contact to less than two meters distance.  
But no matter how much Takeda pierced her with his forefinger on his forehead: Mileena was like titanium. "Is there any reason you're staring at me right now?" She asked, rocking her hips lightly.  
"Certainly not because of that." Takeda growled, closing her eyes and opening them again. "Why it's not working?" Even Cassie could do nothing but shrug her shoulders.

"I already told you it doesn't work for people from Outworld." Mileena laughed mischievously. She suddenly teleported through the floor in a jet of pink mist. Before her opponent could react, her foot hit him from high above in the middle of the forehead and pushed him on the back. With both knees on his shoulder blades she pushed him to the ground, while she came closer and closer to his face. "Looks like I won." Her teeth were now a fraction of his bleeding nose. "Because I always get what I want!"

"Thanks," Takeda said with a grin. "You've read my mind." Before Mileena knew what was happening, he had pulled his right arm out from under her leg. He thrust his arm forward and cupped her forehead with his fist. Mileena flinched, as if a taser had been pressed into her face. Her whole upper body cramped once, then she tilted to the side like a stone and didn't move anymore.

Perplexed, Cassie looked down at Mileena, who lay rigid as a statue on the ground, wide-eyed.  
"What the hell did you do?" She asked horrified. Takeda raised an eyebrow and rubbed his hands. "Followed your order, mam?"  
Again she turned to Mileena, who still didn't say anything. "She looks like shish kebab, only without the spit." She murmured.  
"That's how it is when you overload the senses of other people." he admitted unimpressed.

"When will that stop?"  
"When you wake her up."  
"For real?" Cassie squatted and shook Mileena's shoulder. "Naptime is over!" She shouted in Mileena's ear. But the black-haired woman remained stiff as a buck. Time to bring the guns in. With two fingers she pecked in the yellow eyes. At least now she began to blink, but she was not fully awake yet.  
There was one last chance. And though Mileena's eyes were already twitching nervously while she couldn't move any part of her body otherwise, she fanned wide and aimed at the zone, which even a half-tarkatan could become very uncomfortable when hit by a Cage with hardness of a jackhammer right in the bull's eye.

But just before she could haul her pubic bone into her semi-functioning brain with this last attack, Takeda had already waved his arms wildly and screamed. "For God's sake, Cassie!" She braked immediately to slow her blow. "What? I just want to wake her up." she defended her plan. Takeda put his hands over the face. "But not like that, Cass." He pleaded. "That hurts to watch! Please, can you do it ... more subtle?"  
Cassie sighed and dropped her fist again. Her annoyed eyes met Mileena's wide-eyed eyes, which were in awe to burst out of her eye sockets. She didn't show mercy yet.

Instead of a fist between her legs she got a slap that threw the tarkatan through the dojo.  
A furious outcry signaled that Mileena was now fully capable of action again.  
As fast as she skidded across the floor, she rushed back and punched Cassie in the gut, almost knocking out the dinner. Cassie moaned and put her hands on her stomach. "Good morning…" she belched hoarsely. It seemed to drive Mileena's pulse to a maximum.  
"Good morning?!" She shrieked. "If you hit me once more time, then I'll personally make sure that neither you nor that linnet over there will experience another morning!" Just the way she could stomp the floor with her wounded leg, the painkiller just had maximum effect. But Cassie had her right there where she wanted her to be. On her best rage-mode.

"Does that mean we're both getting into big trouble?" The soldier teased her. Takeda now seemed almost to be having a nervous breakdown. "What's that, Cass?" He hissed. "Is your terrific plan to let yourself get eat alive?" Meanwhile, Mileena went into a threatening attack position.  
Her sense of being overloaded with Takeda only seemed to spur her on.  
"Ladies first!" She growled. Cassie quickly stepped behind Takeda and pushed him forward. Mileena wouldn't kill her, but the bite on her forearm reminded her that woman could still teach hard lessons. "Boys before!"

Mileena's eyes narrowed as she now targeted the young warrior. "I don't care who will suffer first!" Takeda took a step back and hit his teammate. "Great, now you just made her mad!" He hissed. "Great plan anyway to bring a supposed-dead former empress into with you!" But Cassie just grinned and pushed him forward again. "I know what I'm doing! Go and defend yourself, Kenshi Junior!" He raised an eyebrow. "Again?"  
"Yes, she can take that with ease! The woman is tougher than my chewing gum." Cassie encouraged him. He didn't seem convinced. "She will pick the flesh from my bones, alive." he mumbled. Then Mileena pounced towards his chest with her teeth bared.

Takeda once again thrust his arm forward and gripped her forehead firmly with his fingers. Her trajectory was instantly slowed down when she went down again. Cassie is watching the match with great interest. Mileena clawed on all fours, while the telepathic currents cut off her ability to act. It almost seemed as if she would be forced again in the next few seconds to the maximum sensory overload.  
"No." she growled as her saliva dripped from her mouth. Her eyes went up in slow motion and they were bloodshot. "You don't get them a second time!"

And suddenly it was Takeda who cramped as he desperately tried to stay in control of Mileena. "What ..." He couldn't think clearly anymore. She now directed her own mind purposefully against his. It was Cassie's cue.  
"Did you get a headache, Tak?" He turned to her; his face twisted. "Not… in the… least." He gasped. She winked briefly, then Cassie threw herself forward and took him with one arm into the sweatbox. "If that's so." she called in his ear. "You can have the two-for-one offer!"

"Get off me, Cass!" He snapped. Before she knew it, a bright flash of light flashed behind her eyes. Takeda had his hands on her as well, but Cassie didn't let go of his throat despite her relentless twitching. And there it was again.

The smell of her own blood, her last screams. They echoed relentlessly through her inner ear.  
 _"You cannot win this fight!"_ It was Takeda's voice, but in her mind's eye appeared the "face" of Leatherface, whose eyes pierced her skull with murderous lust.  
She felt herself nearing fainting. He drilled deeper and deeper into her brain, settling at the center of her deepest fears. Her deepest fear: to meet the man again who had wiped out her life almost in tune with his chainsaw.

 _"That's not real."_ she thought. _"You are nothing but a construct of my thoughts!"_  
The silhouette distorted oddly, but he was still there. The monster's eyes became cloudy. _"It won't go away, Cass."_ It was Takeda again, talking to her in spirit. _"I see your fears deep inside. You cannot suppress them!"_  
It made her angry. She had not gone this way, from Shang Tsung's island over two continents to be defeated again by her own fear. The enemy was waiting out there, but not in her head. "I have met death several times! I will not be beaten!" Her blood throbbed in her temples. "And together we will do it!"

There was another flash as the illusion broke before her eyes. Leatherface collapsed in a wave of red light. "Okay, that's enough!" Suddenly she felt something break from her head before she collapsed on the floor. Cassie opened her eyes trembling. Takeda had freed her from his mind games, as well as Mileena, crouching beside her.  
Only now came the frantic headache, as if her skull had been twisted in a screw clamp ever closer, until her brain literally burst from the ears. But she was conscious. She had done it.  
Takeda was still standing next to her, his hands resting on his knees, breathing heavily, as he looked at Cassie. His eyes were bright with surprise.  
"Whatever you did." he said slowly. "You did in I way, I never know it before."

"What do you mean?" She asked confused. He offered her his hand and Cassie let him put her back on her feet. She was dizzy, but she kept her balance.  
"I remember how you attacked me in the catacombs." he said. "You almost killed me in your delusion." She swallowed. Cassie had tried to repress it, but now she felt guilty for what she had done to him then. When it was already clear that nothing was normal in her life anymore.  
"I had saved you, because the incoming unit would have shot you. I didn't need to penetrate deep into your thoughts. An impulse of my telepathy has already brought you down."

"I can barely remember. Suddenly everything was black." she mumbled.  
"And there's the situation again." he continued indignantly. "I was once again forced to outsmart your thoughts. But they are strong. Very strong." He squinted. "You wanted me to attack both of you. Why?"

"That was her plan, not mine." Mileena croaked, still sitting on the floor. She was awake and alive, but looked like she was about to ... "I think I must ..." An unmistakable bubbling announced something sinister. Cassie squirmed to her friend. "Quick, get a bucket before ... eh, too late." She and Takeda jumped back a few steps as Mileena vomited across the carpet in a huge barrage. Fish leftovers, indefinable bones, fur, something that looks like pieces of a tin can and gastric juice were everywhere. It stank horribly.

"That's why I always trained with dad on an empty stomach." he coughed, holding his nose. "You'll survive." She stared bitterly at him, then fixed Cassie with her yellow eyes. "Tell him what you know, Cass. Once again, I don't believe in your absurd plans." Cassie returned her gaze with iron determination. "But you will." When she turned back to Takeda, she said. "Was it hard to turn off both of us at once?" He snorted. "Turn off? I have let you go early." Something he added defiantly. "It's a bit harder to focus on multiple souls at the same time."

"Well then," she said. "You even get four at once?"  
"Like our whole team? Very tricky." He just shrugged.  
"What about eight?" She asked.  
"Eight? A challenge." he admitted. The moment of truth.  
"And… you can get control over 1000 souls?" She pulled the corners of her mouth slightly upwards. "Yet another time?"

 **Maybe I have time during the holidays to create a few more chapters. After being asked several times:** **Dr. Kombat will hopefully make her comeback** **in the coming weeks. After my hard drive was destroyed and I lost all fanfiction data, I didn't have much time to reprocess the story-cases. But I try to take the time and implement the desired wishes. I wish you a nice week. MasterFran**


End file.
